Kids Like Us "Outta Control" CD
[Eulogy]
Here we have 13 relatively quick tracks of pissed off old school styled hardcore with a touch of added heaviness and furious vocals that sound a little harsher than your average shouts, though not taken too far. But despite the intense vocals and added chunkiness to the music, these guys definitely have a good sense of humor, as proved by the fact that the entire layout is done up with killer looking comic book illustrations. Hell, the booklet even folds out into a full color six-panel "poster" of sorts that expands on the cover art. Nice. Anyway, for the most part this is nothing new, so expect a bunch of barely under two-minute songs that often run at a slightly slower than average pace for hardcore, but still refrain from sounding like metal or anything like that. The opening title track throws in a few rock 'n' roll types of influences including a melodic lead break, but that's not at all indicative of what most of this disc holds at all. "Box of Buttholes" solidifies that fact by throwing down nothing but fast and pissed hardcore with solid midpaced breaks and another quick lead at the end; while "Skate Hate" is more geared towards traditional hardcore and actually comes across as catchier as a result. And closer "Gator Smash" rolls along with a solid midpaced crunch that suddenly closes with an out of nowhere burst of total sludge rock - fittingly enough after the call of "Welcome to the south!" I'm talking gritty dual guitar jams and even a fuckin' slide guitar lead!? What the hell!? The only thing I don't like about the recording is that it feels a little suppressed. It's not quite what I'd call muddy, but it needs a little more brightness to really pop out. Other than that they're on the right track, since the guitars are heavy, the drums pack a punch, and the bass is back there pounding away amidst it all. I'd probably pull the vocals a little closer in with the music, too. The sound's a minor setback as it stands now, but they're damn close. Most of the lyrics are in your face and to the point, covering your usual topics such as calling out people who talk shit, being pissed off, skating, fuckin' around, etc. I like that a lot of the stuff's written the same way the vocalist would talk, too - what with lines like, "That wacky shit you been splittin' was found to be lies." Not bad. For the most part I like this, but it's another one of those hardcore records that despite its strengths and differentiators doesn't quite push hard enough to win me over in full. A few more tracks that maintain the energy level of "Skate Hate" would've definitely helped, while the diversity offered by the title track and "Gator Smash" is something else that could stand for more prominence throughout. (6/10)
Running time - 20:39, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Outta Control, Skate Hate, Gator Smash]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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