This domestic release is a bit different than the recent UK job. It contains three songs not on the UK version (two of which disappeared on their last 7″) but one song that’s on the UK version doesn’t appear here. Rockin’ improvement.
This is actually the domestic pressing of their latest EP. The import, reviewed in a previous issue, contained some tracks from the American release “Kill by Remote Control,” so they’ve replaced those tracks with the import 7″ “God Bless America.” If you don’t have the import EP or 7″, snap this up.
A vast improvement over their last LP, this one showing lots of spark and energy, sometimes reminding me of BAD BRAINS. Glad to see these vets rocking so hard and still keeping their fine lyrical content. Plenty of melody, too.
OK, this is a “rock” album, meaning the accent is on tunes, power, and production. What it’s missing is the excitement and spark of this band’s earlier releases. Punk background music?
The TOXIC REASONS’ latest EP features some scathing commentaries on contemporary American life, though the songs don’t quite rate with their best material. “Can’t Get Away” is a bracing shock of ’77-style punk, while the two other tracks invade D.O.A.’s territory of pile-driving political rock. Timely and heartfelt.
Live, the TOXICS seem intent on following DOA into a rock-oriented rut, but this album is filled with sharp songs that lock in firmly on your memory. Most of them are mid- to fast-tempo punkers rather than thrashed-out blurs, and the production fully accentuates the power and subtlety of the band’s instrumentation. Unreservedly recommended for its relevant lyrical concerns and some outstanding cuts (like the 7 SECONDS-style “Powercrazed” and the melodic “Stuck in a Rut”).
The TOXIC REASONS finally have their own LP after two 7″ EPs and cuts on various compilations. Here, they re-do their first single, cover MAX FROST & THE TROOPERS’ “Shape of Things to Come,” and rip through the whole gamut of their live set—punky reggae, punk, and thrash. The liner notes are great and there’s a glossy magazine included. A must.
