Connecticut’s AMBITIONS are one of hardcore’s most active and inviting bands. With a bulk of the group spending time in the well-known act WITH HONOR, these guys are seasoned vets looking to make a new run at things. Positive, thoroughly developed lyrics crash into mostly breakneck rhythms and sinewy bass lines. Lead singer Jay Aust’s tuneful range promptly calls to mind the pipes of legendary punk/hardcore singer Dave Smalley. Stranger is the band’s debut full-length and follows-up the teaser 7″/digital EP Exile, and 2006′s Think Fast! EP Question, which was named to Pastepunk’s Best of 2006 list.

Pastepunk: Ambitions: Aggressive band with hints of melody or melodic band with hints of aggression?

Jay: Hopefully both. Whatever mood each song was headed toward we just went with it.

Pastepunk: The Stranger liner notes state that there are two bass players in the band. Typo or true? If true, what was the motivation for including two bass players in the band?

Jay: Unfortunately, this is a typo. Jake is actually the second guitar player. Although two bass players would have been pretty crazy. Maybe for the next album?

Pastepunk: Songs like “Fact Remains” and “Overstep” are reminiscent of 90′s Southwestern punk bands like HORACE PINKER and FACE TO FACE. What led you to take this direction with Ambitions?

Jay: We have always been big fans of punk rock; I grew up listening to FACE TO FACE, BAD RELIGION, etc. One of the goals of this record was to incorporate anything and everything that might have influenced us, and not to cater the writing to any specific genre. We were talking about how we missed listening to albums that had a wide variety of songs, but still were able to represent the same band, like SHELTER’s Mantra or even PEARL JAM’s “Vs. I would argue that Face to Face’s rock record Ignorance Is Bliss is one of their strongest albums. I like albums where you can compare and contrast different songs, versus records that just embody a “sound.” So that was our goal.

Pastepunk: People got a taste of Stranger with the Exile 7″. How have people that may have been expecting WITH HONOR part 2 been responding to Ambitions?

Jay: It’s a mixed bag, but then again I feel like any band that may have “ex-members” of other bands has a challenge. Inevitably, you want to create a new entity that will let you grow and expand as musicians. On this album we were fortunate enough to draw from five people’s creative experiences and backgrounds, versus three on the Question EP, having cemented our lineup. So hopefully we were able to create an album that can speak for itself.

Pastepunk: The artwork on Stranger is fantastic. Can you tell us a bit about the art itself as well as the person that created it?

Jay: Thanks! The artwork was done by one of our old friends and graphic designer Elliot Gagnon, based on some of the concepts of the album that we collaborated on. A few of the songs were inspired loosely by the book “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. We were trying to capture the role of the individual and the struggle for identity and meaning in the chaos and beauty of the world. I think he did a great job with the color scheme and putting these themes into place. We couldn’t be happier.