When I reviewed Stretford's Vice E.P. a while ago, it was quite a revelation; I honestly believed that bands no longer knew how to use horns for anything but crappy third-wave ska. Long Distance reaffirms my faith: Stretford uses their brass to ram the rock'n'roll home. Two horns and a sax augment the attack of twin lead guitars, throbbing bass and frenetic drumming, producing classic wall-o-sound ditties like "Hard Way" and "Last Time Around," not to mention the already lauded "Vice". Perhaps it's UK-transplant vocalist/guitarist Carl Normal who gives Stretford an edge, employing some secret genetic predisposition to create hook-laden music. Perhaps it's the way the various band members assemble themselves, Voltron-style, into a towering giant robot of punk-pop fury. Or perhaps it's just the fact that Long Distance sounds better and better the closer the volume knob gets to eleven. Regardless, none of these thirteen tracks will leave you feeling disappointed -- the only disappointment is discovering that they stop at thirteen.