Taking a trip down memory lane, back to one’s youth, is often filled with mixed emotions, and some not so fond recollections. This trip was not that. Upon my first listen to Wckr Spgt’s, Dense Pack, I was drawn to its quick intensity, and immediately thought of Black Flag’s, 1979 EP, “Nervous Breakdown.” Then, while enjoying the last two songs on the 7-inch: “Binary” and “Questioning Time,” I was unwrapping the latest item to my vinyl collection—the Cure’s, “Three Imaginary Boys.” I was suddenly 17 again and digging it. It wasn’t for a few weeks until I got my second listen to Dense Pack. Again, I heard other influences, such as The Vandals and The Germs, which was undoubtedly due to Don Bolles, whose drumming held up nicely to the dark moments, and exploded during the speed episodes. The Wckr Spgt sound however, is all their own. 30 years in the waiting, Dense Pack finally broke out. Perhaps it was for the best, as we often don’t realize our own mastery, in any endeavor, until we become well practiced, and this is an example of just that. Wckr Spgt, along with Bolles, is a well-oiled machine that didn’t even need multiple takes to make it right. Carpenter and Givens didn’t miss a cue, and Huschle’s creative genius created lyrics as fast as his mind could think.