Reviews

Ruined

Mad Brother Ward & the Abrasives All Bad All the Time LP

If I were a crueller chap, I might have simply pointed out the nominative determinism in releasing an old man punk record with the title they’ve chosen, but it is a new year after all, and new leaves are to be turned over! It is bad though, that’s undeniable. I’m always wary of records that have the phrase “punk rock” liberally plastered all over their press release; almost exclusively used by shoe companies or people who used to own a skateboard when they are talking about how they are disrupting the cloud-based systems industry. It is, how the kids say, giving “calls themselves ‘procurement rockstar’ in LinkedIn bio.” Linguistics aside, this record basically sounds how it looks. Four old blokes making old bloke music, nothing earth-shattering or vital here by any stretch. Not worth your time.

Man Dead Set Too Early to Be Late LP

The cover art is what really struck me here. At first glance, it resembles an old ROLLINS BAND cover. It would definitely pique my interest if I found this in a bin at any record store. On to the album itself: what we have here are ten relatively short, fast hardcore punk songs that are over before they become stale. Most stay under the two-minute mark, which is good, although there are two that go over that mark and while I personally prefer my hardcore songs to stay under one minute, it’s not unbearable, and is hardly noticeable when listening as the songs flow nicely. If you’re like me and constantly looking for something to pull you away from the old faithfuls, give this a spin.

O.C. Rippers Happy Hours Air Travel Club LP

O.C. RIPPERS have been grinding for a few years now, and these Beachwood, New Jersey boys are coming in hot on their second LP. The opening “Mean Streets” sets the tone for the record with a NEW BOMB TURKS-type rock energy and a vocal delivery that falls somewhere between “Nervous Breakdown”-era Keith Morris and “Search and Destroy” Iggy. From there, it continues down familiar roads of ’90s punk’n’roll paved with sleazy ’70s attitude and it’s a hell of a ride. While a lot of bands who tread this territory these days are content in delivering pastiches, the RIPPERS are writing good tunes, some of which would play pretty smoothly in between classics from the likes of the NEW YORK DOLLS, the HUMPERS, the DEAD BOYS, and ZEKE. The songs shift between smoky and bluesy moods, to shambolic ’60s garagery (see the ethereal organ that appears on “Murder” and “Late Night TV Lover”), to soulful and sinewy electricity seamlessly, all played with unabashed lowbrow finesse. I’m thinking it will sound great on Friday nights with a cigarette lit.

The Trouble Seekers The Trouble Seekers LP

What a pleasant surprise. The TROUBLE SEEKERS are Kevin McGovern from the PROSTITUTES and Hillary Burdon from the PANDORAS. On their first album, they deliver a superb set of songs with great elegance, melodic sense, and humor, mixing the classic Southern California punk sound of the ’80s, synths à la SCREAMERS or NERVOUS GENDER paired with a punchy drum machine, and some classic rock attitude. Imagine the McDonald brothers collaborating with Lawrence from DENIM—that’s the closest thing I could come up with to describe the very personal sound of this project.  Listen to “Out of Order” and thank me later.

Yokozuna Lower Westside Crew EP

Total ’90s noisecore from Virginia—if you think the 1997 Demo side is too hi-fidelity, then feel free to flip your shit (over) and check the Live at Grandma’s House session on the flip. Someone might suggest that there was no need for this to exist, and maybe I wouldn’t argue with that person—it sounds like shit and it’s sloppy and it’s two decades old, they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But, if another person countered that this is an essential piece of shit-fi brilliance and the world is a better place with $1 bins full of actual noise instead of accomplished bands with the crossed-out music symbol logo on their records…? Well, I’m gonna be on that second person’s side, because that second person is smarter than the first person. What a fucking mess.