Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Post-Punk, Psychedelic, Noise Label: Wrong Island Records Tracks: 9 Length: 46 Minutes (Long) Style:Angry/Mysterious My Rating: 6/8
"Draft Beer, Not Students" is a split live album featuring the Sonitus Revolution and Bionic Senses. The Sonitus Revolution is a psychedelic funky punk band from Wantagh, New York that formed in 2005. Bionic Senses is a noisy avant-garde music unit from Portland, Oregon (founded by Duffy Wrong Island of Grrrl Friend). The two bands are considerably different in style, but both share the spirit of punk and were during this point label-mates on Wrong Island Records. The contents of this album are taken from a live performance (presumably in Portland) in 2006.
1. Sonitus Revolution - "Borderline" The band briefly introduces itself ("we are the Sonitus Revolution") -- then they begin. A studio version of this song can be found on the band's sole album, "There Is No One Way to Dance", so if you want to hear this song in even better quality, download that record (it's free). The song has a pretty simple riff and a typical punk rock beat. Great rockin' solo halfways through the song.
2. Sonitus Revolution - "Clap On" Starts with the singer talking about how his car got totaled and then proceeding to say "Fuck the Police." Drumming-wise, this one's a bit more energetic and thrashy than the song before it. The beat is more dense here, though there is a periodic pause between the crashing drums that is filled by the simple *ching* noize. Another good solo two-thirds through. You hear some guy yell "YEAH!" during this part. Not sure if it's coming from the audience or the band. Yeah hear the same guy yell "YEAH!" in the EXACT SAME tone of voice and everything. I shit you not. Just kinda funny.
3. Sonitus Revolution - "Violent Education" Jay makes a joke about "throwing himself into things". This one's got a really funk-flavored bassline, at least in the beginning. It's really cool -- kind of reminds me of the Minutemen. Did I mention that Jay Briggs's voice sounds a lot like D Boon's? Well, it does. During the chorus section, the guitar just does sort of an upward ascension of notes -- it sounds really cool and triumphant... sort of like an uprising in a great war of rock n' roll. There's a brief slip-up on the drumming at one point in the song. The "YEAH!" guy makes a return after the song finishes.
4. Sonitus Revolution - "Laius" Definitely the best one on this whole album. Easily one of the greatest songs of the past decade ever. This song actually sounds just about identical to the version on the studio album, so I'm wondering if they either just used the studio version on this album, or used the live version on that album. It's a bit better in quality than the other songs, either way. There's actually an even better-sounding recording (re-recording?) of this song on a compilation called "Save Our Heads For the Future", released by the Dinosaurs in Vietnam 'zine in 2009. Anyways, about the song. Starts with just the guitar riff -- the guitar sounds so fucking awesome, here. I don't know what the effect's called, but it sounds awesome either way. The bass slowly coaxes its way in, and then the rhythm guitar gets a tone dirtier as the drums pound, climaxing into the mean beat. This song just makes me wanna dance, it's really that good! Nice solo, nice funky bass. What I love is the part where it goes into an instrumental bass-dominated section, and then it really revs up again when the main riff and the thumping drums come throbbing back in. Great song. The "YEAH!" guy can briefly be heard at the very end, but he is obscured by the rest of the crowd clapping.
5. Sonitus Revolution - "Pavement" This song begins with Jay telling the audience that the next song will "make their bowels explode", much to a certain woman's dismay. Well, this is probably my least favorite song, here. I just really don't like it. It's driven by a certain bassline, but unfortunately it's not very charming. There's some lead-guitar as well, which is pretty good. Ends in a real noisy section, and then the crowd begins to clap. That's the end of the Sonitus Revolution's half of the performance. Now, on to the mayhem of the Bionic Senses!
6. Bionic Senses - "Neon-Boy-Toy" The band introduces itself, and the song begins. The guitar uses heavy metal-ish wah-wah effects, along with a buzzing, noizy layer of fucked-up rhythm in another ear. Just over seven minutes long.
7. Bionic Senses - "The Genius of the Crowd" (by Charles Bukowski) Basically a continuation of "Neon-Boy-Toy", with Duffy doing a reading of "The Genius of the Crowd", by Charles Bukowski, an American writer and poet who lived during the 20th Century. This one is really good, the words are really compelling -- Duffy screams the piece as if they are his very own words!
8. Bionic Senses - "Can't" Duffy's vocals are really aggressive, here. This one is more bass-driven, going on a different tempo than the two songs before it. The song is a bit repetitive (aside from the lead guitar), but it starts to speed up towards the end. The song ends with some thumping of a bass drum and a downward swooping explosion of rhythm guitar noize. There is a studio version of this song on their 2005 album, "Migraines and the Cotton Candy Psychosis".
9. Bionic Senses - "Piss and Moan Disorder" The shortest of the Bionic Senses tracks. It's another slow, dirty, unpredictable, monstrous track. I really like the way Duffy sings here, his lyrics just have good sort of timing or so to speak. After the sung part, the song segues into a quicker section dominated by thumping drums, repeatedly hitting you in the head, and then after a bit Duffy starts singing some more, and then he just starts speaking and yelling. Duffy tells the crowd "don't do drugs", and apologizes for "bothering" them. This was the best Bionic Senses track.
A lot of the songs here are real good, but this album could have been better than it was if the sound quality was a little better. Oh well, that's what you get in a bootleg, I guess. You've got the funky coolness of the Revolution and the unfiltered rage of the Senses. Did you know Duffy was only 11 years old when he started Bionic Senses? There are a lot of Bionic Senses albums, most of which are even weirder than the songs here, and make heavy usage of electronic instrumentation and samples and just basically everything Duffy could get his hands on. The Sonitus Revolution has one album besides this one and it's called "There Is No One Way to Dance", released in 2006. Jay Briggs from that band currently runs a label/zine called "Dinosaurs In Vietnam", which has released various free albums (much like Wrong Island Records) in the past few years. Also, Bdee, who played bass guitar in both bands, currently is in a band called "Bdee + the Venomous Oranges". Blah blah blah. These guys have all done a lot of stuff and a lot of it rules. You can download this album for free on Wrong Island Records's Last.FM page, so if you wanna give it a listen, check it out -- the sound is kinda bad, but the songs are very good!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Laius (Sonitus Revolution) 2. Piss and Moan Disorder (Bionic Senses) 3. Clap On (Bionic Senses)
Genre: Punk Rock, Reggae Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: Bad Brains Records Tracks: 2 Length: 3 Minutes (Very Short) Style:Angry/Love My Rating: 6/8
Bad Brains is considered to be one of the earliest hardcore punk bands ever, and also one of the most famous. They were also one of the earliest bands in the Washington D.C. scene. The group formed in 1977, originally called "Mind Power". They started out playing jazz-fusion, but quickly became interested in punk rock and started playing hard, fast music like no other at the time. Early on in their existence, the members of the band were introduced to punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Dickies. The band renamed itself "Bad Brains" after the Ramones song "Bad Brain", and H.R. (Human Rights), originally a guitarist, became the band's vocalist. This was the first release by Bad Brains, and also likely the first hardcore-punk record to come out of the D.C. scene, which would later also be the source of bands like Minor Threat.
1. Pay to Cum One of the most famous Bad Brains songs, it's very fast. A lot of cowbell used, also. H.R. sings a mile a minute (more like a few seconds, actually), as his lines accumulate into an explosion of a group-shout of a single syllable. The lyrics sing about how humanity has lost sight of what matters in life, and if they don't rethink things, we will all die as a result of our ignorance. This song was later included on their debut album, and an alternate, slower version can be found on a 7" EP called "Cum to Pay". I actually like that version the best.
2. Stay Close to Me A slower, slightly more mellow song. More on the reggae side of Bad Brains' musical style. Still, some of the drumming is pretty punk-influenced. The lyrics are pretty much what to expect from a love-song -- the protagonist tries to get his girl away from another man who ultimately isn't for her.
Well, that's all of "Pay to Cum". In 1982, the band released their debut album, simply titled "Bad Brains". The band would further delve into the Reggae style of music, as well as the Rastafarian religion, which the members were/are devout followers of. At one point, they had almost exclusively been playing reggae. They are practically one of the only notable all-black punk bands, and they are also one of the few original hardcore punk bands that still exists today -- they still perform shows and record new records! I must admit that I have only recently started listening to Bad Brains, but from the sounds of this and their first LP, I like what I hear so far.
Genre: Punk Rock, Folk Rock, Country Sub-Genres: Post-Punk, Psychedelic, Hardcore Label: SST Records Tracks: 12 Length: 30 Minutes (Medium-Length) Style: Mysterious/Happy/Emotional My Rating: 6/8
The Meat Puppets are a band from Phoenix, Arizona. As you may have earlier read, the group was formed in 1980 and played mostly hardcore punk for the first half of the '80s. The first two records, a 7" EP called "In a Car" and a 12" LP called "Meat Puppets", were reviewed by me during the Winter and are both great examples of this style. During "Meat Puppets", their style began to shift towards a more psychedelic sound, with even some nods to country & western music along the way. In this album, that style is pretty much taken to full effect. The Meat Puppets stopped writing angry, typical hardcore songs save for a few; writing new, folk and country-influenced songs, with... ACTUAL LYRICS! With that said, Curt's vocals sound pretty different here -- gone is the Darby Crash-esque gibberish and screaming, and now that style is replaced by whiny, twangy, warbling cries and singing. Many of the songs are slower, and some feature very little guitar distortion at all. As you can guess, many in the punk crowd didn't really like this very much, but the band still found its fans...
1. Split Myself In Two A fast, straightforward song similar to the style of the first album, but instead with a new vocals style in lyrics. Even with that, the lyrics are pretty nonsensical, but more coherent than the older songs, or so to speak.
2. Magic Toy Missing This is an instrumental song. It's a fast song with a rawhide-like bass melody, and the focus is mainly on the lead-guitar. In the middle of the song, it gets more exciting in my opinion, with the lead guitar getting progressively more interesting, a little acoustic guitar, and stuff like that. Great song.
3. Lost This one mellows it down a notch... more of a psychedelic country tune. The lyrics seem to just be about being lost in general... in an attic... on a freeway... he talks about being "tired of living Nixon's mess"... does he mean Richard or Dale?
4. Plateau This one's kind of slow. Curt sings about a plateau and a bucket and a mop and a book about birds and Greenland and Mexico and stuff. I have no idea if there's anything more to those lyrics. 3/4 through the song, a layer of guitar distortion can be heard.
5. Aurora Borealis Another instrumental song. This one's slower and more trippy, though. Good, interesting guitar leads. The bass and beat and pretty good too.
6. We're Here A soft beat. The whole song's not too loud. It's a good song, still, though. The vocals are sung in harmony, here. I like the riff that goes after the chorus and before the verse. It's real cool. End of Side 1.
7. Climbing A really country-ish feel to this one. The vocals are real mellow. They are really good on this one. Two thirds in, the vocals end, and they are replaced by an acoustic lead-section. You can start to hear the bass guitar coming out at this point, too. It's got a lot of character to it.
8. New Gods This one also sounds a lot like something from the first album, but of course, with real lyrics. The lyrics are about some guy going to visit Mexico and being told "not to drink the water, and not to touch the food". That must've sucked. He had some Pepsi-Cola, also. The wild, chaotic guitar solo tell more tale which could not be uttered by the narrator.
9. Oh, Me Another slower, quieter one. The guitar sounds really neat, here. You can hear little strands of trippy, aquatic-sounding guitar notes off to the side. It's very good. The chorus is pretty catchy. So many nice little subtleties in here...
10. Lake Of Fire The only song which has a theme that I can directly decipher... it's basically a song describing Hell, talking about people boiling and frying and dying there, being tortured by demons for eternity... the song's a little bit sadder, the riff is more distorted and dirty-sounding, but the chorus seems to have just a shred of optimism of it. Nirvana pretty much made this song famous on their own when they played it on their famous "MTV Unplugged" performance nearly 10 years after this album first came out.
11. I'm a Mindless Idiot Another instrumental. It's sort of slow, but slightly faster than "Lake of Fire". There's almost what sounds a bit like a ukulele in this one...
12. The Whistling Song As the title suggests, there is a bit of whistling in this one... of course, sung vocals, too. It's a very good last song... the chorus section is simply a whistled melody. One of the more country-influenced songs here. Nice guitar solo at the end. And that's all, folks.
With their next album in 1985, the Meat Puppets at one point shed almost all of their "traditional" punk elements. This album finds a nice middle ground, and it's quite entertaining. As I mentioned earlier, 9 years later in 1993, Nirvana re-ignited relevancy with this album to the current media when he played three songs from this album, with Cris and Curt Kirkwood actually joining them for those performances... Cris and Curt, huh? That's actually really funny! There are people with names like "Chris" and "Kurt" in both bands! A lot of people in the punk scene back then disliked this album, because it deviated majorly from the normal punk sound, but others in the scene, such as the members of Black Flag loved them, and the two bands often played together. Well, that's all I have to say for now. Seeya!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Magic Toy Missing 2. Whistling Song 3. Oh, Me
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore, Grunge Label: Ipecac Records Tracks: 9 Length: 43 Minutes (Long) Style: Angry My Rating: 7/8
While the Melvins were and still are the kings of sludge, they had a quite swift and speedy upbringing. For many years, Melvins fans who came too late to hear this era first hand (a.k.a. most of them) found this stage in the Melvins' career to be somewhat murky and vague. The unknown. Haunted by Melvins Dragons and Melvins Monsters. The songs on the Deep Six somewhat touched on this older sound. "Forgotten Principles" was released on one of the many Amphetamine Reptile 7" singles in 1996. There were a few bootlegs around with some of these songs on them, but most of the song titles were wrong. Finally, in 2005, after years of waiting, Buzz Osborne finally dusts off some of these 22-year-old tapes and finally gets the album that could have been released for all of us!One pleasant feature of this album is the fact that it does contain a lengthy writing by the King himself on what his life growing up as one of the lone punks of Montesanto, Washington... great stories, especially if you grew up in a rural area like this. It's really interesting. Anyways, after all that took place, the band formed, originally consisting of Buzz Osborne, Matt Lukin, and Mike Dillard (the original drummer).
In this album, they play fast hardcore punk songs -- similar to Black Flag, the Germs... bands they were heavily influenced by. This album is actually somewhat historically significant in the sense that many consider Mangled Demos to contain what are the first grunge songs ever -- "Set Me Straight" and "Matt-Alec". They're basically two songs with a hardcore punk edge but a slower speed, and lots of distortion. In a sense, here, you are hearing the first grunge. And they're still kids, here! Well, it's a got a lot of songs -- some of them were recorded for an album that was never released because there were no record labels in the area until 1985 when C/Z Records formed. Some are just demos/jam sessions/live performances. So yeah, let's just dive in now, shall we?
1. Elks Lodge Christmas Broadcast This part's great... it's an local old radio broadcast of a talent/fundraiser show called "Sunshine Kids" in Montesanto Washington... starts with an old guy with an acoustic guitar playing a soft, happy, family-friendly folk/country song. The two host men comment and seem to get slightly confused as the Melvins are tuning up their instruments, joking about how they "are about to get their sinuses cleared". The band members are interviewed, in the order of Matt Lukin, Buzz Osborne, and Mike Dillard. The younger interviewer tells the audience to get ready because the Melvins are about to play some "good PUNK rock"...
2. If You Get Bored (Live) The Melvins say that they're going to play now, so we hear various snippets of some of the other songs they played. About a half-minute into the track, the Melvins begin to play "If You Get Bored". Buzz's voice is a lot more nasal than usual, but still snotty and confrontational. Lots of feedback. Just imagine the reaction the crowd must've had -- the Melvins were practically the only fans of punk in this whole area. Keep in mind that this is one of the first Melvins live performances ever! The song fades out just before the second chorus ends. The two host guys seem pretty glad to tell us that they are going to be next having some more "traditional" acts up for the Sunshine Kids Broadcast. The clip ends in one of the commentators joking about wether or not they were still alive after the Melvins performance...
3. Forgotten Principles This is the first track from the 1983 studio session. Supposedly the studio they recorded this in was run by two hippies and in really bad shape. However, they were luckily able to record these songs! Like you may expect, it's a fast, snotty, thrasher with a shouted chorus of "FORGOTTEN PRINCIPLES". Buzz's vocals are as aggressive as the sound of the guitar, with a furious beat continuously punching you in the face. The song is just over a minute long.
4. Snake Appeal One of their most famous hardcore-era songs... it was re-released on the debut EP, then on the later LP version of that record from 1991, and then a later demo version from 1984 was featured on the album "26 Songs". As for the song itself? Well, it's got a great, combative bass guitar, combined with more fucking awesome vocals and good guitar. It's just a shame it's not a little bit longer than it was. Sounds very Germs-esque, especially in the chorus part.
5. (Flower) This one is very fast! The title is given as a small picture of a flower, but because I cannot find a flower symbol right now, I am going to just write it as "(flower)". Make sense? Anyways, the song is a pretty typical hardcore punk song with Buzz singing about how his parents steal his money from him even though he lost his job because "he's just a slob". The song ends in a slow part. End of Side 1.
6. If You Get Bored We hear it once again! However, this version was recorded in the studio rather than live. The vocals are much more on-point and tough-sounding. Damn, this is a great, aggressive song if there ever was one. It just doesn't miss its mark. Few bands can sound this good consistently even in one song.
7. Set Me Straight The "first grunge song". Well, it's pretty slow, the distortion is cranked up a notch. Really, it's not extremely different from what a lot of hardcore punk and noise punk bands were doing already, playing an occasional slower song, but I guess since this song's a little heavier and the Melvins being near Seattle and everything, some find it appropriate to call it that. Buzz's vocals just fit perfectly with his guitar sound. Hear him practically growl like a wild animal after singing a line. The drumming of course, sounds good, too. Not as good as on "Matt-Alec", but we'll get to that later. This song was later re-recorded for a 1986 studio session and then again in 1993 for their major label debut, "Houdini".
8. (Star) I like this one a lot! It's very fast, it has a fun riff, more good, confrontational vocals. It's pretty short, but legit. Buzz says "boy" or "boi" a lot... I'm not sure what that meant... perhaps a parody of the shouted phrase "Oi"? I know the skinheads hated the Melvins early on in their career. Or maybe I'm just reading into this too much. Anyways, good song.
9. I'm Dry Once again, great song. It's fast, not like the track before it -- more in the way of "Snake Appeal" or "If You Get Bored". The vocals hit the edges of every fucking curve. Shame no one appreciated them back then.
10. Forgotten Principles This is pretty much a distorted version of the version of Forgotten Principles in track 3. I'm not even sure why they put this one on the record. Maybe just a typical Melvins weird moment. Basically the guitars sound all weird and Buzz's voice seems to have been slowed down. End of Side 2.
11. I Don't Know Another very fast song. However, about midway through the song, it goes into a slower, instrumental section with a guitar solo that resembles the music from "the Nutcracker". Or maybe just a coincidence. A ca-winky-dink. Heheheh.
12. Matt-Alec Possibly one of the greatest songs the Melvins have ever written. It's another song on here that we could classify as being an early grunge tune, with its slow tempo, exemplifying the now-conventions of the genre moreso than "Set Me Straight". Awesome, growly vocals from Buzz angrier than a buzz-saw!
13. The Real You The last studio recording. Starts with an intro of bass-guitar and bass-drums before it explodes into the song. It's probably my least favorite of the songs from this section of the album. I dunno, just not as interesting or powerful as the other songs. Still good by any means, though.
14. Run Around This is from a demo tape, so the quality isn't quite as good as the songs before it. However, still great quality for a tape from 1983! If there's one thing the Melvins had going for them back then, it was good equipment. Somehow. The tempo is sort of the same as "Snake Appeal". There's a little solo in the song.
15. Keep Away From Me This one's a tad faster. Similar to the songs like (Flower) and (Star) before it, but not quite as entertaining, production or riff-wise.
16. ♣ There! I was able to find an actual symbol for this one! This one's pretty good. It's very fast. I love the melodies/riffs they use in this one. It's pretty diverse in its usage of a midsection as well as verses and a chorus and stuff. Very short. Just one minute long. End of Side 3.
17. Bibulous Confabulation (During Rehearsal) A five-minute recording of the band members arguing amidst a rehearsal. Starts out with Matt and Mike arguing over a hamburger and french fries. Some guitar-playing can be heard in the background. Mike is accused of drinking out of someone else's bottle and puking into it. Pretty funny if you want to hear some of the interaction between the band during its early years.
18. ╬ A pretty catchy song. Buzz's vocals are somewhat muffled by the loudness of the other instruments, but it's all cool. There's a little thing Buzz does with his guitar during the chorus that sounds really cool.
19. (Pencil) Man, why the hell couldn't they have just come up with NEW NAMES for these songs if the original titles were so hard to find that they had to replace them with fucking symbols? Well, it's a fast song. The riff reminds me a teeny bit of the one for "Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains.
20. Matt-Alec Once again, we hear the same song twice. Like "If You Get Bored", "Forgotten Principles", and, well this. Pretty much the same song, except the quality is slightly dirtier, and Buzz's voice is a lot harder to hear. Ends with a clip of some British guy on the radio talking.
21. Walter A 3-minute instrumental song. Great riff. One person actually pointed out that seven years later Green Day ended up producing a song that sounded almost identical to this. Coincidence? Who knows! Not a whole ton I can say about it, other than like all of the other songs here, it rocks, and there's no lyrics or vocals.
22. (Scissors) I don't even know why they included this one as a track... it's just one second of tape hiss followed by complete silence for about twenty seconds. What? Is there something I missed? Did the Melvins indeed write the FASTEST PUNK SONG EVER?? Like, a song SO FAST, SO HARDCORE that it was so short that it could not be sensed by the human ear and only by certain species of dog? The fucking ESSENCE OF THRASH. "5643-Song EP" by Anal Cunt doesn't have shit on this bitch.
23. (Airplane) Ditto.
Well, that's all there is for now. Perhaps there was more the Melvins did in those days that is yet to be revealed... probably not. Well, it's extremely generous in my opinion that the Melvins decided to release this in the first place... I mean, there are only two known live dates the Melvins ever even performed in 1983. And this stuff is better than a lot of other hardcore punk from the era. Well, slowly, the Melvins got more exposure and started playing shows alongside other punk bands that visited the Seattle area. The band went on to master the hardcore punk genre, climaxing in godly pieces such as "She Waits". However, more importantly, the band's slowness was there to stay, and pretty soon afterwards became their most prominent characteristic. This, they say, was the birth of grunge. In 1985, some people noticed that the Seattle music scene was beginning to change, producing actual quality original music (it is said that the scene was mostly dominated by lame cover-bands before this period), and the Melvins were one of the first bands they signed. This was C/Z Records. Some post-Mangled Demos but pre-Six Songs songs can be found on "Deep Six", the first C/Z Records release ever. The second record they put out was a six-song vinyl EP for the Melvins. The band's sound became slower and heavier as time went out, eventually churning out songs up to 12 minutes long just on the sheer monstrosity of it all. But that, my friends, is another tale, which has been talked about and will be talked about in other reviews. This is the beginning of the Melvins. If you like the Germs, Black Flag, or Flipper, you'll probably love this.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Matt-Alec 2. If You Get Bored 3. (Star)
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: No Way Records Tracks: 6 Length: 10 Minutes (Short) Style: Angry/Political My Rating: 6/8
Government Warning is a hardcore-punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia. The group formed around 2004. The music they play is fast, loud... you know the drill. It's not bad, though. The band does write pretty good songs and has a neat lo-fi garage-y sound -- true to the spirit of the original '80s hardcore punk movement. Just has that right vibe to it. This was their first record ever, along with being the first release on "No Way Records" which I suspect the band created itself to release this EP. That label now releases records for various hardcore bands throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. Anyways, about this record... it's their first one. Uhh... it's less metal-oriented than the more recent releases and more just straight-up hardcore. There's a picture of the White House on the cover...
1. Railroaded Starting with a big stomp-out of noize from all instruments. The drums get a-rolling and the song kicks off at a really fast speed. The song is a less humorous take on the sort of dystopia often sung about by the Dead Kennedys -- a world where we all just put on our suits and ties, follow orders, only to get locked away if we disobey the "code". "Sometimes the truth can be worse than fiction", says Kenny the vocalist. They yell "bullshit" a lot in this song.
2. Blank Starts out sort of atonal, but then a bit less after the first few seconds. Very fast like the first song -- somewhere inbetween MDC and Minor Threat musically. This song detests the apathy among many American people during the war, not doing anything to stop the madness while "killing fields are covered in blood" and "Soldiers sink their feet in mud".
3. Government Warning Starts out kinda slow with a great beat. About 1/3 into the song, the song speeds up into typical thrash fashion. What I like about the vocals here is on the shoust of "GOVERNMENT WARNING" in the chorus part, the first chant is ended in a lower note than the second chant. You'd probably need to listen to it to know what I mean. But it sounds good. The song ends in a slow section similar to how it began -- only to end in one more quick fast section right at the very end. Much like the songs before it, the song describes a displeasure with the current American way of living and anger at the Government for enforcing a specific system on its citizens with no alternatives. The EP's title "No Way Out" comes from a repeated line in the song. End of Side 1.
4. Walking Dead Starts only with a guitar melody and a little bit of light percussion -- the song begins to pick up some ground, and about 1/3 into it, it's off at light-speed again. Okay, maybe not light-speed, but pretty fast. There's some nice use of little strands of lead guitar solos scattered throughout certain parts of the chorus. Really great lyrics about the struggle of the working people in America just to stay alive and enjoy life, feeling like the "Walking Dead", feeling "forced to be glad"; being used as a mere piece of a larger machine. A bone in a dead dinosaur unable to break free.
5. Ghost Town Fast and hard. A song told from the viewpoint of a poor Holden Caulfield; basically in the sense that everything around him feels fake and dead. "People all around, but I'm all alone" -- that's a feeling a get a lot too, sometimes. Basically it's a song about a punk's distaste for suburban superficiality.
6. Self-Destruct In a sense, this one's the "slowest" song here. Still fast, though. The lyrics to this one are so damn true -- people today never want to rebel. Nobody wants to challenge the values they're raised on, they're "just content to be average or mediocre" -- THIS IS FOR FUCKING REAL. If there's one thought that really DOES get me angry/riled up, it's that one. That we're devolving. Somebody here needs to have some balls. Do something crazy. Be a free person. I dunno. But we really do need more of that in this society. I won't have this jaded decline. Neither will the singer, evidently.
"No Way Out" is a pretty classic-sounding, solid hardcore EP. It's fresh, sincere, ragged, and has a story to tell (I love stories). It's pretty clear what message they were trying to convey with this one -- the rat maze of America kills its rats. Whether through inducing of depression, apathy, stress, overworking, sickness, or whatever; mainstream American culture, behind its plastic facade and high fructose corn syrup sweetness (with fake freedom fries on the side) is ultimately laden with, well, death. An abusive, virtually undefeatable father deformed from old age with his children cowering in fear and submission -- forever. You can feel this pain in the lyrics of these songs. The music is good, too... the songwriting is pretty damn good. The recordings have a really fuzzed-out, grainy lo-fi sound. So yeah, this is a proper example of GOOD modern hardcore punk. Check it out. Man.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Government Warning 2. Blank 3. Self-Destruct
Genre: Punk Rock, Folk Rock Sub-Genres: Post-Punk, Psychedelic, Hardcore Label: Homestead Records Tracks: 11 Length: 40 Minutes (Long) Style: Emotional/Mysterious/Angry My Rating: 7/8
A few days ago, you probably heard my story on Deep Wound -- a Massachusetts hardcore band that existed during the early '80s... well, you also probably knew that Lou Barlow and J Mascis were in that band too! Well, when J Mascis went to college, his friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to a more wide variety of tastes in music like the band Dream Syndicate. Soon after, Gerard dropped out of college to start his own record label called Homestead Records, which would release many high-quality punk records during the '80s. Gerard Cosloy told J that if he could record an album, then Homestead would release it. Accepting the offer, J Mascis invited Lou Barlow, Murph, and Charlie Nakijama to be the bassist in his band and began writing songs. They were unlike what Lou had heard before -- instead of exemplifying the cliches of hardcore punk, it was something totally different... more intricate melodies, not nearly as fast, a large folk and country touch... it was a totally new sound. The band MOGO played its first show in September 1984. The show ultimately erupted in Charlie's anti-cop rant, which caused him to be kicked out. The group renamed itself "Dinosaur" (a few years later legal issues would cause them to change the name once more). Dinosaur recorded their debut album in a home studio in Northampton, Massachusetts. Let's see what it sounded like...
1. Forget the Swan Starts with what sounds like a typical punk beat and bassline in the first few seconds -- but then that facade quickly becomes more little guitar-leads, acoustic guitars, folky note-progressions. It's really a beautiful sound. Lou Barlow sings here. Lots of cool guitar effects. In the middle you can hear a phaser shifting back and forth, yielding on a beautiful solo that ends a bit too soon.
2. Cats in a Bowl Lou's singing again. The beat is fast, in a neat country-punk style. There's an awesome slow part after the chorus to even things out and keep it all interesting.
3. The Leper I believe this might actually be the first the recorded world has ever heard of J Mascis's voice! It's a pretty nice voice... the lyrics might not necessarily be about a literal leper, but rather, a person who is a leper on society, as the lines "safest to wallow in my own esteem" and "my life is chosen to rape"... maybe not. Who knows? Great, beautiful guitar solos.
4. Does It Float Y'know, when I look at the cover for this album, it's what I imagine where you'd be mentally while listening to this. Like, sitting in the field with a bunch of flowers with a happy sun and some guy with hat -- probably singing this song. It's a pretty good song, not quite as interesting as the ones before it... well, actually, right after I typed that, Lou Barlow SCREAMED and a layer of really distorted guitar shredded the whole damn song to... shreds... and then the song kind of seemed like it was over, as a soft, quiet tune was played... suddenly, the whole damn monster comes right fucking back at you at an even faster speed! It's wild!
5. Pointless This one carries a seemingly more ominous behavior to it, as Lou (maybe it's J, actually) chants using creepy effects on his voice and awkwardly screams in the chorus "I'M STARRRRVING". The last third of the song is a little more relaxed and ironically happy.
6. Repulsion Yay! It's J! Mascis! Despite the name, this song isn't very repulsive to me. This one's a distorted by folky song with J Mascis singing. It's wonderful. I can hardly believe what I'm listening to, really... I haven't heard half of these before. I'd probably say the same thing about any great new song I'd heard in retrospective. But yeah, it's a really pretty song. Something I'd wanna get stoned to. Or make love to. Or both. To. This song. "The world drips down like gravy" -- heheh.
7. Gargoyle Sort of gothic-sounding. More Lou singing. Sorta fast beats. Combinations of 'lectric and 'coustic. Nice solos. It's actually the shortest song on the album, being just over two minutes long.
8. Severed Lips This one's a little slower and more laid-back. J Mascis sings, as he strums more great tunes on the guitar. There's a wonderful electric guitar solo just after the middle of the song. It's a nice song.
9. Mountain Man This song sounds the most like traditional hardcore punk in this album, except for maybe the abundance of guitar leads. Lou Barlow sings this song from the viewpoint of a mountain man, who has to "struggle to survive", as he fights grizzly bears, eats wild hares, befriends the other animals, and hides from where the other people live which according to the mountain man is "filled with lies". Towards the end of the song, the song changes up into an even faster part with a guitar solo as Lou yells and screams in the background, ending the song with the proclamation, "'CAUSE I'M A MOUNTAIN... MANN!!!!!"
10. Quest After the rage and immaturity of "Mountain Man", we get this, another slow folky type of song. I love how they use the acoustic guitars in this. For some reason I really like the line "I love the caterpillars munching on the leaves". I had a pet caterpillar when I was a little kid. He was black and yellow so I named him "Mustard". J Mascis goes on to express his sympathy and ability to relate with bugs. Some parts have no distortion and are pretty quiet, other parts rev up the distortion for a few brief moments. The lyrics here are fucking gorgeous.
11. Bulbs of Passion J Mascis gets to sing the last song. It's a slow, sort of grungy, sludgy song. Lou does background shouting vocals. It alternates between quiet parts and loud parts, but not really in a Nirvana way. Besides, the album came out two years before Nirvana even formed! In the middle, the song is sabotaged by some great slap-bass as a guitar solo writhes in pain trying to escape its brutal... slaps... to the face! Yeah.
One thing you'll definitely notice on this album is the fact that Lou Barlow is almost more prominent on this album as a vocalist than J Mascis is. This pretty much changed overnight when the next album was released in 1987 (so by 'overnight' I mean two years). Of course, as much as Lou wants to sing, it doesn't change the fact that J Mascis's guitar-work is arguably the best feature of this whole album. I could listen to that man write tunes all day. You could say the band's sound got slightly more "condensed" after this, but that's how it works for a lot of great bands anyways. Dinosaur's music would get louder, heavier, and noisier. Maybe a step back closer to hardcore, but a step forward in the sense that the Dinosaur Jr. spirit was still there -- they still had yet to write some of their greatest songs ever... "You're Living All Over Me" is one of my very favorite albums of all time. This album is really good too! I haven't heard half of these songs before I reviewed 'em, so you've just been reading the thoughts of a first-time listener! I STRONGLY suggest this album for EVERYONE. And my friend Aaron, who is a budding Dinosaur Jr. fan and needs to hear these songs because I think he might like them! Hope you liked my review, everyone.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Repulsion 2. Quest 3. Forget the Swan
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: Cowabunga Records Tracks: 4 Length: 6 Minutes (Very Short) Style: Angry My Rating: 6/8
The School Jerks are a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario (Canada). They formed around 2008 or so. Their sound is simple, but effective and hard-hitting. Sort of a mix between early Black Flag and the later Germs. According to an interview, two members of the band, Ben and Luke, were previously in another band called "Terminal State"; the band broke up, but Ben and Luke wanted to keep playing music. The School Jerks' name is taken from the title of a song called "School Jerks" by a band called the Vains. The band has released a demo tape (released 2008), and two 7" records (the first of which I have already reviewed). This is the School Jerks' newest release, and it's a four-song 7" vinyl EP called "Decline".
1. Decline Can't understand the lyrics, but the song is great, anyways. The vocals sound a lot like the slurred fucked-up-but-great yelling of Darby Crash, while the drumming and guitars punch hard like a song by Black Flag or the Circle Jerks! There's a little solo in the middle of the song. The song ends in a slowly fading clash of the final chords having been stroked.
2. Rentboy Fastest song on the EP. Vocals sound great. I love the distortion. Yep, I have no idea what they're saying on any of these songs... Side 1's over, so turn the damn record over tooooo!!
3. Street Talk My favorite song on here. The beat sort of holds back in the verse section, with the occasional cymbal clashing here n' there. Awesome riff, especially when the chorus section kicks in... just sounds really good to me! I'll bet this one sounds fucking great played live... the chorus riff has such a cool roll to it... that's when the beat starts resemble the first song's more... it's all cool, though.
4. Guestlist Starts with a neat, lead-n-bassdrum intro... quickly, the first verse of the song begins. This one has a pretty neat outro-section that comes after the second chorus.
It's short, but good. It definitely has the vibe and attitude of the original hardcore punk bands; in a good way. The music's pretty straightforward simple, so if you're looking for jazz-fusion 'er something, don't look for it in this EP. It definitely has a classic vibe to it -- this is definitely something I think I'll still be listening to in the future. And with the band just starting off, it makes you wonder what they're gonna do next -- the 4-1-1 is that they may be working on some new recordings in the near future (read: probably before Summer begins), and it should rock as hard as this one does already. Sometimes the band gets their live shows broadcasted on Equalizing Distort Radio. You can find more info here:
http://equalizingxdistort.blogspot.com
I'm not sure how often they do it, but it's something I read on the band's MySpace page. So yeah, the School Jerks are for you if you're looking for a good, young, thrashy punk band. In some ways Toronto kinda comes off as the new L.A., punk-wise. Hope you liked my review, and have a happy Friday, everyone! :-)
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: Radiobeat Records Tracks: 9 Length: 9 Minutes (Short) Style: Angry My Rating: 6/8
I'd heard of these guys for awhile before actually listening to them -- being a big fan of Dinosaur Jr. already, I would hear the name tossed around here and there. Hell, in the music video for their cover of "Just Like Heaven" (best cover ever), there's a muppet wearing a Deep Wound shirt... pretty good taste! However, just because you like Dinosaur Jr. doesn't guarantee you'll love Deep Wound too... there are huge differences. Deep Wound is vicious, furious, and faster than fuck (that's pretty fast)!
The band was formed in 1982 by high school friends Charlie Nakijama (vocals), Scott Helland (bass guitar), and Lou Barlow (regular guitar). The band met J Mascis (later of Dinosaur Jr. fame!) when he responded to a notice the band had posted which apparently said something like "LOOKING FOR A DRUMMER TO PLAY REALLY FAST"... well, J didn't let down on that one. This little 7" wonder is one of the fastest hardcore records I've heard in my life. This is a band with balls, people! To be able to play songs this fast for even a minute... well, time to talk about ze music, nauw. But in the fashion of our deeply wounded heroes, I'm going to describe each song really fast and short, only talking about the parts that matter. Hell, I'm wasting time right now!
1. I Saw It One of the "slow" songs on the 7" (would be considered fast on anything else). About fearmongering on the news.
2. Sisters Really fast. Pretty much about what my sister will be like in a year or two.
3. In My Room Also really fast. Slow part in the middle. Couldn't find lyrics.
4. Don't Need FAST!! Critical of co-dependancy.
5. Lou's Anxiety Song It's about the inability to distinguish right from wrong ideas in our society. Side 1 Ends.
6. Video Prick The catchiest one. Also longest. It's about pedophiles.
7. Sick of Fun It's about burnout and dissatisfaction. Really fucking fast. Best use of screaming in a song ever.
8. Deep Wound It's about society leaving people with few real choices in life; trying to heal the "Deep Wound" that's permeated our culture.
9. Dead Babies The slowest song. It's continuing upon the general theme of the underlying emptiness of American society. The vocals are more spoken than yelled/screamed here... the general melody is softer.
As made clear by most of the lyrics of these songs (they're actually very good and poetic despite the fact that you can barely understand them in the recordings), Deep Wound represents the disenchantment and angst of middle class American youth... during the '80s, or during today (probably moreso), these songs hold sentiments that we all share. Deep Wound broke up in 1984, but at least they left behind something great to be remembered by in the process! While Charlie Nakijama and Scott Helland remained very much unknown to many after this, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer J Mascis would go on to find much success in the future -- actually, they did attempt to form another band with Charlie in 1984, but he kept screaming "FUCK THE COPS" during their only performance much to the rest of the band's dismay, so they kicked him out and decided to form a band named "Dinosaur" (later to be called Dinosaur Jr.). In 2004, there was a one-off reunion of Deep Wound, featuring all of the members of the old lineup now as adults in their 40's, performing the song "Video Prick" when nobody expected them to! Give Deep Wound a listen (or five) if you love fast, erratic hardcore punk!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Sick of Fun 2. Video Prick 3. Don't Need
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: Reflex Records Tracks: 12 Length: 19 Minutes (Medium-Length) Style: Angry/Mysterious My Rating: 6/8 By this point in my reviews you've probably already heard a lot of about Hüsker Dü. Well, they were a rock band. This is their second LP they released, and the first studio LP they did. Like most of their early sound (actually I read that they were New-Wavers when they first started), it's extremely fast, hard -- standard for a typical hardcore punk record. It was their last album they released before signing to SST Records (excellent choice!) later on in the same year.
1. From the Gut Alternates between rolling drums and more linear beats. The lyrics seem to either be about a heartbreak or getting punched in the gut. Either way, about pain, it seems.
2. Blah Blah Blah This song's pretty fast. It's about a loudmouth douchebag who talks crap to the song's protagonist, as the protagonist asks if the enemy is "talking in tongues, or is his brain out of gear?". There's a pretty awesome solo in here. The song ends with the sounds of a group of people talking about a bunch of random stuff.
3. Punch Drunk This one's even faster! It's only 30 seconds long -- the lyrics are about punk violence as kids in the bar kick and punch eachother -- "think it's a fucking gym??", asks Bob Mould... when asked where his friend is, he replies, "guess he'd rather be punch drunk".
4. Bricklayer Extremely fast n' angry! It's about a dude who throws heavy bricks from a window of a building at peoples' heads.
5. Afraid of Being Wrong This one's about bullies who refrain from saying much, hide with their insecurities in their crowd, "don't speak unless spoken to" and become passive because they're "afraid of being wrong".
6. Sunshine Superman This one's a Donovan cover. An early hint towards Hüsker Dü's eventual expansion in musical direction. A classic-sounding guitar solo can be heard in the song. Actually, there's a ton of lead in this song. I can tell by these lyrics that Donovan was probably on something when he wrote 'em. Heheh.
7. Signals From Above Starts with some healthy noize, until the thrash kicks in, as angry vocals are sung, criticizing the world's hippies who "think the whole world is incense, peace, and love" -- proclaiming they ignore the "signals from above", mocking their ideas of 'free love' by calling "dirt-cheap love" a "thing of the past". End of Side 1.
8. Everything Falls Apart This one's kinda happy-sounding. I think there's a usage of a keyboard in this song, too. Sounds really pretty. The song's premise is simple -- everything falls apart. It's only natural. Another nice solo, too.
9. Wheels This song mocks people who use their cars to show off, loving their cars more than people; forgetting that a car is a dangerous tool which could eventually be your grave!
10. Target This song criticizes stupid scenesters who "think it's all passe, even though they listen to the same records every day", and hate others who "caught on late, even if they're having fun" -- however, the Target never makes his/her own music or does anything productive... simply a leech, an internally ugly troll existing to feed off its own hatred and feelings of superiority. "YOU'RE A HYPOCRITE! YOU'RE THE TARGET!"
11. Obnoxious Fast and short. It's a big 'fuck you' to all of the people in society who looked down upon them for being punks and playing fast music, or "not talking right", saying "they won't last".
12. Gravity Longest song on the album (two-and-a-half minutes). It's one of the slowest, too. Like a few others on this album, it resembles their more melodic sound that would become regular for them in the next album. The song is about the pressures of the world crushing in on us all just like gravity, but it's not actually gravity.
Ten years later, the band re-released the album on CD with bonus tracks from the "In a Free Land" single, some outtakes, and an 8-minute song called "Statues"! After this album, the band got signed to SST and released "Metal Circus", which I have already reviewed, so you can find the review to that album and their classic double LP that came after that, "Zen Arcade" on this site if you look around, so yeah, this album makes a good example of Hüsker Dü's earlier, more erratic hardcore punk, in better quality than "Land Speed Record"...
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Everything Falls Apart 2. Bricklayer 3. From the Gut
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Post-Punk, Hardcore Label: Touch & Go Records Tracks: 4 Length: 16 Minutes (Short) Style: Weird/Funny My Rating: 6/8
This is the fourth Butthole Surfers to be released. It's one of the more under-rated releases in their catalog, and it's a 12" EP with four songs on it. It's pretty similar in style to "Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac", the record that came out almost a year before it -- a deranged mish-mash of backwoodsy psychedelic-punk-weirdo-rock.
1. Moving Down to Florida The song is two parts interspliced into different parts that swing back and forth between eachother, rather than playing the vocals and instruments simultaneously. The spoken parts are narrated by a hilariously creepy hillbilly, discussing his plans to move to Florida as well as various outrageous conspiracy theories he's heard about everything from Lyndon B. Johnson to gigantic radioactive tadpoles... all in Florida! The musical parts are rockabilly-style repetitive beats, with the occasional big-guitar-solo. In the end, the vocals are spoken alongside the instruments, in a more traditional song style.
2. Comb Starts off with some ominous noizy droning, and the sounds of Gibby vomiting. After about a half-minute, the signature Butthole Surfer-sludge tempo kicks in, with abrasive, atonal guitar riffs, and Gibbytronix-produced unintelligble distorted moans, groans, screams, and yells. The song ends with a similar setup to how it began. A brief really funny-sounding noize is heard. That's the end of Side 1...
3. To Parter As the title suggests (sort of), it's a two-part song. The first half is a repetitive No-Wave-y lead-driven instrumental piece -- reminds me a lot of early Sonic Youth. The second half is more melodic, as Gibby sings about a group of white men who sold qualudes to some monkeys, who all got addicted to them and "died up in the trees". The song goes on to criticize the teachers of the world, comparing us human beings to the aforementioned qualude monkeys. Gibby screams a bunch. The song ends.
4. Tornadoes The shortest song on the album. It's a fast Dead Kennedys-esque song -- the riff and the rhythm are pretty straightforward, but it's still got that psychedelic flair to it... perhaps it was one of their real early songs (a lot of their earliest songs -- before "Brown Reason to Live" even -- sounded like this). The gang makes funny noises and scream in the background. And that's all, folks!
I can understand why it's not exactly heralded as a masterpiece... it's good, but there just isn't enough! Of course, it's just an EP. The original 12" vinyl pressing has been long out-of-print, but the contents of this EP can be found on the American CD version of "Rembrandt Pussyhorse", and the U.K. CD version of "Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac". So yeah, if ya like Buttholes and Surfers and Butthole Surfers, you should totally listen to these songs. But I'm real tired and pissed off and can't think of anything else to say. So, good day, all y'all!
Genre: Punk Rock, Folk Rock Sub-Genres: Post-Punk, Psychedelic Label: None Tracks: 9 Length: 35 Minutes (Long) Style: Emotional/Love My Rating: 7/8
From the great land of punk known as Kanaduh (kaa'ne'deu), a new beacon of light has arisen from the unknown. This new beacon is Diehatzu Hijets. And while it's really just one guy named Layne L'Heureux playing all of the instruments and singing all the songs himself; make no mistake, this is great fucking music. Layne is an incredibly nice person, too. The "band" formed in late 2009, less than a year ago, after being exposed to '90s punk groups like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr, which caused Mr. Layne to make his own music. And if he seriously only started listening to those guys less than a year ago, he's in pretty damn good shape, 'cause he's already making music nearly the same quality as those bands. And with that said, this is the Diehatzu Hijets debut album. It's actually considered an EP by the band, but with the added bonus tracks, it's basically LP-length, so go hit yourself in the vagina with a mallet, will ya? Ahahah!
1. Get Real A great opening song; a happy sort of song underneath a blanket of jagged distortion. Lots of great guitar solos here and there. It's a beautiful sort of slacker-anthem. I'm going to have to admit that the line "when I need a bro you'll be chillin' there" is a tad bit lame. But that's pretty much the only lame moment on the whole album. There's also a part where Layne sings "it sucks but, that's the way it is" -- which is really funny, because he pauses inbetween "but" and "that's the way it is", so it sounds like he says "IT SUCKS BUTT" at first. Ahahahahehehehe!
2. The Universe Mount Once again, really great melody, with a lot of little subtleties in the guitar-playing... why the hell is this guy so unknown still?? I guess in this song, the Universe is supposed unfold so "everyone can find their way" and such... how does he know this, you may ask? No idea. Inbetween the more straightforward verse parts, there are more mellow, solo-laden sections.
3. Burnt Out The guitar intro here kinda reminds me of "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth for some reazon. However, that part segues into something a bit less otherworldly than that song, but still a good song nonetheless. Once again, jam-packed with awesome lead melodies. Some guy is singing background vocals around the end of this song.
4. Running Horse My favorite song on the record! It's a slower song. It's a sort of country-tinged and wry but hard song with more great fuzzed-out riffs and leads. My absolute favorite part is the instrumental repeated riff towards the end. Something about the chord progressions combined with the great never-ending solos. Pure bliss can be achieved to the ears during one of the final couple minutes of the song. It's a real great feeling when you're down or just bored 'er something.
5. Someplace This one's mostly acoustic. No drums, either. It's sort of a calm-after-the-storm feely-song. It's not very long, but it's great to listen to if you're tired and just want to listen to something that fits how yer feeling. This track ends the EP version, but I'm gonna just go the extra mile are review the next few bonus solo tracks too!
6. Anger This is the first solo Layne L'Heureux song here. Despite the name, the song's not incredibly angry. It's very moving and emotional, still. You hear a burp around the beginning of the song. Truly beautiful. A rough electric guitar solo slowly moves its way into your right ear about 1/3 of the way through the song.
7. Peace, Love Once again, acoustic. Much more folky-sounding than the songs before it. The serene lyrics and emotion that delivers them sends you over mountains, the sea, through fields, as he wishes peaceful life for his lover because he misses her when she's (I think) away. And hey, the solo is acoustic too, this time!
8. Fugitive Kind Similar style of music to "Peace, Love". The song's about dating a girl who is much younger than you (still in high school!), getting crap for it from the parents of the girl, as they tell him that he's too old to be messing around with someone who's still a minor. Layne compares himself to Marlo Brando.
9. This Shit's Fulltime A great closing song. Some of the lyrics are kinda humorous, but for the most part, it's a pretty love song. "You look like my ass... you look like Venus" -- apparently his ass looks like Venus. Like, not Venus's ass. But his ass resembles Venus's entire body. Pretty strange, I've got to say. The final minute or so of the song is without vocals. And THAT, my friend, is totally the end. For now...
The first half of the record (including the bonus tracks) is more noisy and punky, and the second half is mellow and acoustic. And while not everyone is necessarily interested in that, most people should enjoy this album if they have taste beyond the cookie-cutter Top 40 plastik radio ranks... hell, my best friend even likes this album, and he can't stand most of the music I listen to! He thinks Diehatzu Hijets could potentially get famous... wouldn't hurt to have that happen. The common themes of the album are slacker life and the comfort/hopelessness in a romantic relationship. And it's free, too. The band's name sounds somewhat un-memorable, but the music has been keeping me coming back. You can download it for free, just search the band up on MySpace. So, that's my review. I recommend this for fans of Dinosaur Jr and other early '90s indie rock bands.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Running Horse 2. Anger 3. Get Real
Genre: Punk Rock Sub-Genres: Hardcore Label: Ohio Riot Records Tracks: 10 Length: 16 Minutes (Short) Style: Political My Rating: 6/8
Damn, it's been awhile. I haven't written one of these reviews in forever! Well, I can explain it all: a few weeks ago when the weather was slightly less hot than it iz now, my Mother walked in on me singing and recording the vocals for one of my own songs. She was infuriated (second time I got caught making my own music)... I was immediately grounded for several weeks, so I was unable to write any more reviews... well FUCK IT! I don't care how many times I get caught, I'm so damn close to finishing my demo I've been working on for a half-year, I simply must finish it. Nothing else will do. Well, after my grounding wore off, I just got on a lazy streak writing-wise 'cause I was so used to not really doing anything productive.Anyways... the Defendants are one of the few local punk groups in my area. They formed around 2008-ish or so, and take a lot of their influences from street-punk, hardcore punk, and crust punk. After numerous line-up changes, the band eventually solidified its lineup with Mike Defendant as the frontman (guitar and vocals), Chad as the bassist, and Johnny on the drums. Their lyrics are mostly about their political beliefs, though there's a few fucking-around-lyrically songs here and there. "Uncle Scam" is their first album they've released and I'm pretty sure it was released on Ohio Riot Records (and if not it's probably from their old label, Gem City Punx Records). Ol' Mikey Defendy actually gave me the damn album for free, so I decided to give it a review in return (which I like to do for as many albums as possible). And here is how it goes...
1. This is War Starts with a pretty lead-driven intro. It's a sorta mid-tempo song against the government, declaring war against the government which has caused people to die "because of the system's selfish pride". The main riff kinda reminds me of one of the early Melvins songs, for some reason. Once again, a lot of guitar lead.
2. Legends Similar tempo to the song before it. This song pays tribute to the punk rock legends of times gone by. More of a traditional hardcore sound in this one.
3. The FCC This one's real fast! It's a thrasher detesting the FCC, an organization that practically wants to parent the whole world (including the parents!). I love the line "the FCC can censor me". Just sounds right for some reason.
4. Stand Up Fight Back Probably the first Defendants song I ever heard, back when it was a demo. It's somewhat of an anti-police-brutality protest song. "Never fear a man in blue", Mike proclaims. The chorus that goes "STAND UP, FIGHT BACK, TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK" is joined by some background vocals; probably the rest of the band. Nice little solo in the middle, there. Spices things up a little bit. I love the riff.
5. Lies I'm actually not quite sure what the lyrics to this one are, but they're probably about lies. Just a guess. Like, people lying and stuff. And how when you lie you're not actually telling the truth. And that the word "lie" can also refer to being on your back on the ground. The riff is pretty catchy, here.
6. No Nation The riff reminds me of the song "Riot Fight" by the Beastie Boys in the beginning. Once again, I can't completely decipher the lyrics, but I actually kinda like how Mike sings all fast on this one. And it's another real fast song, which is a nice! I like the little lead guitar "tweeengs" thrown in parts of the song.
7. Nazi Scum Totally my favorite song on this album. It has a great riff, and a nice fast beat. It's an anti-Nazi song. I love the line "you're gonna be dead by the end of this song". The lyrics are real confrontational and badass. The solo here is really cool. More backing vocals in the chorus.
8. Broken News This is my second-favorite song on here. It's about the unrealistic, fallacious, superficial, dead-brained mainstream media and news that delivers lies to the gullible. Once again, a great lead guitar solo. "They can never stop the force that's known as punk" -- damn right.
9. Phone Sex Ya see, here, the Defendants have delved into the world of 2nd-person lyricism. The song is about YOU, and it's from YOUR viewpoint. The song puts you in the place of a person who's Mom is getting phonefucked. Er, yeah. But for real, this is by far the shortest song on the album, being barely a half-minute long. I'm not quite sure if they should be havin' that phone sex with my Mom, though.
10. Uncle Scam The title track of ze album. Starts with a funny spoken by Uncle Sam himself, asking you to hand over all of your hard-earned money to him. The song is pretty fast, including the vocals, so I dunno what the lyrics to it are, but it's a pretty good song. However, that iz the end.
So, that's "Uncle Scam". The main themes of the album are rebellion against the government, anti-fascism, and media behavior-control. I do have to say that I really like the production on the album -- it has a certain rawness in it not present in a lot of new albums, making the songs a lot more listenable than songs from a lot of other new artists. While not extremely innovative or anything like that, the Defendants have a good sense of writing a catchy, cool riff, which can make a great song in itself. According to the band, they're close to releasing a new EP, and it should come out pretty soon. And remember, children: the FCC can censor us all. Even youuu.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Lies 2. Broken News 3. No Nation
