Hear The Track Here
At 12:51 pm on February 22, 2011 a massive earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand killing scores and generally creating havoc. On of those killed on that sad day was a friend of our very own John Paul Carroll (aka JPC (NZ)) and consequently this track is dedicated to Mattie and the others who lost their lives in that country's moment of tragedy. Now John Paul is waaaaayy too much of a rocker to go the maudlin, weepy eyed route, so I expected him to do what he does best - especially in moments like this. The man vents, ladles and gerbils, splenetic, half murmured lyrics snapped at you like bullets, all backed by some very hefty rock - all his trademarks right there.
Like a lot of people, it took me a while to get into John Paul's unique way with the genre but bless his cotton socks, he stuck to his guns and went his own way and converted me - and a great many others - to his way. His way is rock, hard and banging, backed up by powerful, often topical, lyrics and a keen sense of timing, all of which are evident in this track. I remember writing a track around 7/7 (the London train bombings) and being surprised at how angry it sounded, and I suspect John Paul may have had the same epiphany - pour all that hurt into a song, and it'll do that every time.
While not always understanding the lyrical point has become something of a thing with this musician, there is no doubting the message right at the heart of this track. Riff driven, full of fire and righteous anger, 12:51 is classic JPC (NZ), the energy and drive pour out of the music, although - as usual - reading the words would definitely help. As I say, he does have a tendency to murmur (kinda sorta) his lyrics and if there is one song of his you need to understand lyrically, it's this one.
Highly Recommended rock tribute to the fallen.
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