The Ducky Boys "Three Chords and the Truth" CD
[Thorp]
I heard this band numerous times years and years ago because a good friend of mine is an enormous fan of theirs, but I never formed much of an opinion on 'em myself for whatever reason. More than six years after the fact this puppy shows up in my mailbox and I'm really digging it. Their bio likens their influences to everyone from Social Distortion, Rancid, and The Clash to Bruce Springsteen and The Replacements, and I could definitely agree with that because I picked up on a few of those ties myself upon cursory listens to the disc, though of course it's not too blatant in any regard. Of course their cover of "Stand by Me", complete with some organ, has a bit of a different vibe, but it still fits in nicely amongst their blend of tried and true punk rock and straight rock 'n' roll with an honest, emotional approach. The songs are definitely memorable without being too overtly melodic in some respects, keeping things short but sweet (out of 16 tracks only two hit three minutes) with lots of roaming basslines, open chord progressions, raspy singing, and gang backup vocals. "Alone Tonight" is more overtly melodic and catchy as hell, "Fight" is a little faster and has a different sense of energy happening, "This Place" has some darker melodies and softer dynamics that work nicely to make it stand apart a bit, "The Long Road" reminds me of Jawbreaker's "Boxcar", "Untitled" is simply acoustic guitar and vocals, etc. It's definitely a consistent listen. By no means does every song sound the same, and there are a few real standouts, but as a whole everything flows without a hitch. The production's fine. Everything sounds consistent and perfectly forceful for this style. The basslines are given enough room since the guitar distortion is pretty spacious and certainly isn't going for anything overly heavy, the percussion sounds great, and everything ends up clear and even in the mix. I don't think I'd change anything, truth be told. The layout keeps it simple with a minimal color scheme of brown, white, and a little red, and plenty of high contrast imagery amongst the lyrics. The songs are all personal and bluntly honest, as expected, which definitely pays off at times: "Old habits die hard, and old bodies fall apart, But we keep on breathing while we have the chance, We're just hanging on praying that someday we'll find a way and we'll make a place, But the tide keeps chipping away..." There's also a brief statement under the CD tray explaining the band's six-year absence and hinting that their next record should follow significantly sooner. This is really good stuff. No frills fuckin' rock songs with heart. It's a damn enjoyable listen, definitely check it out. Hopefully their old fans are still hangin' around to come out of the woodwork for this one. (7/10)
Running time - 36:31, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Alone Tonight, Fight, This Place, Looking Back]
Thorp Records - http://www.thorprecords.com

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