Back to Higher Ground

The Briggs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Side One Dummy
• ASIN: B000H8RV1Q
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,167 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Back To Higher Ground

2. Let Them Know

3. Song Of Babylon

4. Common And Unknown

5. Maritime Tragedies

6. Everyone's An Actor

7. Wasting Time

8. Insane

9. My Own Enemy

10. Harder To Stand

11. Blacklist

12. Don't Care

Editorial Reviews

After two solid years of touring with the likes of Flogging Molly, the Vans Warped Tour, The Casualties, Tiger Army, The Adolescents, and several headlining runs, L.A.'s Briggs now deliver their most ambitious album to date with lyrics that are a lot more in-depth than on previous records. While singer Joey LaRocca cites songwriter influences like Billy Bragg, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Costello, this record still packs plenty of punk rock punch. Produced by Joe Gittleman (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff., May 4, 2007

By 

sixoneseven12 (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Higher Ground (Audio CD)

So after missing The Briggs twice this year already (once when they opened for Dropkicks and another time when they opened for Street Dogs), I purchased this album at their merch table the second time I missed them because my friend highly recommened it. I'm glad this person is my friend. This is probably my favorite CD I've bought all year. Every song is listenable, but songs like 'Back to Higher Ground', 'Let Them Know', 'Common & Unknown', 'Maritime Tragedies', 'Don't Care' and 'Blacklist' (my personal favorite) are outstanding.

I swear I'm not gonna miss them for a third time when Warped Tour rolls my way...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic punk, November 12, 2006

By 

sph (United States Of Whatever) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Higher Ground (Audio CD)

Really good-quality classic-style punk. Sounds a bit like vintage best-of Clash blended with the best working-class Dropkick Murphys tunes. Great, catchy riffs that don't skimp on the punk attitude. Proof that punk doesn't need to be raw or amateurish to be really damn good music.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back To Higher Ground, May 7, 2007

By 

Morton (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Back to Higher Ground (Audio CD)

The Briggs-Back To Higher Ground ****


The Larocca brothers Joey and Joason, the heart and soul of The Briggs have brought the band together for their most abitious studio album yet Back To Higher Ground. The album is just as powerful or as strong as any street punk album out today. Joey and Jason aside from playing guitar and singing all the vocals the two brothers also write almost all of the material for the album as well. Loud fast punk rock with socialy concious lyrics are The Briggs' mainstay because why fix what isnt broken right? Chris X is very prominant on this album, more so infact then on the bands pervious recordings. Ryan Roberts is more and more showing himself as one of punk rocks strongest and best bass players to date.

The albums title track opens up the album. 'Back To Higher Ground' is a great song about never backing down and standing your ground. Excellent lyrics and guitar that is played agressively yet melodicly. A wonderful way to start off the album. It really lets you know what you are in for. 'Let Them Know' is just one great vocal performance. Simply fantastic. No punk album is complete these days with out least one song about the powers that be and this is that song. 'Song Of Babylon' doesnt have a very clear message as to what it is about, seems open to inrepretation, but none the less it is a very goood song as well as a very catchy one. 'Common And Unknown' is one of the best songs on the album. Easily the best and strongest lyrics on the album. A great performance. Sure to become a concert favorite. A great song for the common man and the unsung heros. 'Maritime Tragidies' is next. Killer. Amazing chorus and incredible group vocals make this song very powerful. Listeners will be surly singing along with this track. 'Everyones An Actor' is full of wows and woooooows. Very agressive and in your face, which is hard to belieave concidering that the song is relativly slower than the rest of the album. 'Wasting Time' is straight up street punk. Great vocals and decent lyrics make this a great song. But the song does come across as The Briggs were in the studio trying to write a song while they were getting loaded and ended up making a drinking song about wasting time. 'Insane' is the closest to a ballad that the band gets on Back To Higher Ground. It is a nice song that takes the tone of the album down drasticly. 'My Own Enemy' is a insanly good song. There is nothing to say it speaks for itself. You must hear it to understand. It is totally the anti-thesis of punk rock in a punk rock song, so the irony helps to make the song even better. 'Harder To Stand' features some nice guitar playing and has a slight ska feel. Not much of a stand out but still a good song. 'Blacklist' is one of the better songs on the album. Not instantly memorable, it does take a while to grow on you but it is perhaps the best song on the entire album once you give it a chance. Back To Higher Ground closes with 'Dont Care' a song that is slow to start but once it gets some speed it doesnt let up until the end. The perfect closer for the album, though the song would have done just as well opening the album as it does closing. A slight ska bridge in the middle gives the song a nice texture as does the wonderful guitar interplay between Joey and Jason. Chris does a nice job of rythm changes and using odd time signatures in a punk song but it is Ryan that shines the most. His bass playng is the best that he has ever done, it really adds something nice to the song. It leaves you wanting more.

The Briggs are well on their way to becoming one of the great punk bands of all time. They are easily one of the strongest, with their great musical ability and their talent at writing great socialy concious lyrics with ease. Back To Higher Ground is a testement to how good this band is and how far they have come since their debut. As of the last 15 years most punk bands change drasticly after their first album and totally become what they started out against, which is not necessaraley a bad thing, but The Briggs have stuck to their guns and it has paid off in making this the bands best album to date.