Codefendants are putting it all on the line with us in their new single “Def Cons;” all of their pain, sorrow, and startlingly unfiltered love for humankind, but they never let the heavy subject matter transform this track into another mournful dirge in a year overflowing with them. This is a thought-provoking punk number that stays with us long after the music has stopped playing, and it’s coming from an act that has yet to disappoint fans or critics with their work. In its totality, this is a single that wasn’t just meant to make us move around to the beat of the music – it’s designed to make us think, as is the music video made in support of its release.
Codefendants’ exotic string play is the foundation of this single, even beyond the rollicking rhythm that frames their every verse. The guitars colorize the black and white percussion with vivid textures and tonality that is warm and inviting, flanking the bigger grooves with a sharp emotionality that isn’t conveyable by mere words alone. The lyrics are strong and uncompromisingly honest, but they don’t overpower the instrumental backdrop at all whatsoever. Codefendants know how to use every inch of sonic space at their disposal to make a statement with their music, and “Def Cons” is one of the more recent examples of their vibrant skillset in action. They’ve been in this game for a lot of years, but they sound as committed to the craft as they did in their previous works, if not a little more so thanks to all of the experience they’ve gathered.
I would have made the vocal track a little louder in the buildup to the second chorus, but I can understand why Codefendants decided to go a different way with this portion of “Def Cons.” I think that they want us to feel the collective energy that all of their instrumental supporting cast is churning out here, and were the lead vocal any more prominent in the master mix than it is, it might have focused the spotlight away from the wall of harmonies and more towards Codefendants’ lyrical centerpiece exclusively, subsequently limiting the audiological depth and presence of the single substantially. This song is arranged around the chemistry of its players, and not the ambitions of its words.
Music has a way of bringing people together like nothing else can, and in that spirit we find “Def Cons” and its massively important message this spring. Codefendants are using the platform that they’ve established for themselves for good in this track, and although it’s got a radio-ready polish and the kind of surreal stylization that will essentially make it a guaranteed hit for its creators, I don’t get the impression that it was designed to eventually cash a big paycheck at all. There’s just too much punk rock heart and too much-unmatched emotion in this single for me to think that, and once you give “Def Cons” a spin, I think you’re going to see exactly what I’m talking about.
