General Concern About Time… LP

Pacific Northwest rippers GENERAL CONCERN only succeeded in getting a 7” out during their initial run, but they did manage to record an LP’s worth of material with POISON IDEA’s Thee Slayer Hippy at the helm, and now, just for fun, you can see what the hell they were cooking up back in 1989. While definitely a product of its era, About Time… still delivers the goods in a myriad of ways. While nominally a hardcore outfit, many of GENERAL CONCERN’s songs bear similarities to bands like CRIMPSHRINE and CRINGER, straining at anthemic melodies with an earnest, energetic charm. The DC influence is also apparent, but GENERAL CONCERN tamps down the po-faced aspects, while retaining some of the elevated musicianship of that scene. There’s an endearingly snarky attitude to these quirky songs that erupt in bursts of speed and sometimes sound like SNFU gone (first wave) emo. Outside of the occasional region rock standout, this style of punk has fallen by the wayside, and even a cynical bastard such as myself feels pangs of reticence at its loss.

• Reviewer Erick Bradshaw
• Label Just-For-Fun
• Issue MRR #485 • October 2023