For the most part, a letdown from the band’s previous releases. The title track is laced with funk guitar and sing-alongs, and the remaining ones lean towards offbeat rock’n’roll. Musically, the material seems to be missing what the band was aiming for.
This one took me by quick surprise. A vast improvement over their previous vinyl. The band has discovered a new crossover between musical styles and seem to be taking it in the right direction, with not as much of a metal influence as I expected. There’s more of a chaotic, awkward, complicated power pounding sound. The lyrics are creative and slightly twisted, but only add to the record’s sound. Hard to classify, but I like it!
This album contains a fair amount of monochromatic thrash on side one, but several tunes of the flip show that the UGLY AMERICANS have an unexpected versatility; I really enjoyed “The Bad, the Worse…” and especially “Bob’s Beach,” with its surfy overtones. The lyrics are always incisive and hard-hitting, so even though this LP is musically a mixed bag, I can recommend it without too much difficulty.
