Militarie Gun are a truly uncategorizable band. Led by vocalist Ian Shelton, the band’s debutfull-length, Life Under TheGun, is forged by a lifetime of experience and effort, offering 12tracks that manage to blend the unbridled aggression of hardcore with massive hooks andpersonality to spare. Throughout the record, Militarie Gun demonstrates their mastery ofmelody andgrit as Shelton interrogates a lifetime of interpersonal relationships through adistinctly blunt, empathetic, and self-aware lens. Ultra-catchy tracks like "Do It Faster" and"Very High" look at his challenging upbringing with adult perspective, while “Never Fucked UpOnce,” demonstrates a willingness to approach the third rail, juxtaposing some of Life UnderThe Gun's most darkly comedic lyrics with its most overt pop-rock sensibilities. The albumcloses with its anthemic title track where Shelton sings the final refrain “a life of pursuit ends uppursuing you” like an urgent reminder to himself: move forward or get swallowed up–your pastmight shape you, but it doesn’t have to define you. The song’s final lone chord rings out like aquestion, a fittinglyhopeful-yet-ambiguous ending for the debut album from a band that’salready come so far and evolved so much–but whose story has only just begun.