SHARKS

The Joys of Living

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When the Sharks’ James Mattock sings lines like, “Never allow yourself to forget to run against and through the darkness,” his heart is working harder than his brain—and that’s precisely as it should be. Like their American counterparts in Gaslight Anthem, these tattooed, greasy-haired Brits are rock ’n’ roll zealots. They base their faith on two sacred 1978 texts—Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town and the Clash’s Give ’Em Enough Rope—as well as works by latter-day prophets Rancid and Social Distortion. Mattock enunciates like Joe Strummer—i.e., not at all—but gets his point across, urging other true believers to stay free and keep searching for the promised land.