I believe this was the first true full-length for this Dutch punk band, recorded back in 2000 and originally released in 2001 on Skuld Releases. Since the band didn't record any material between 1995 and 2000 one would have to assume they were on some sort of hiatus, but whatever the case they came back and were heading in a much more punk rock sounding direction on this effort. There are still faster picking patterns and light hints of metal in songs like "Big Brother", but the overall sense of energy and catchiness comes across with a slightly lighter vibe than some of the stuff on the "Global Destruction" 12" or what have you. The vocal tradeoffs and doubling are a little more noticeable on this outing, so maybe that has something to do with the slight change in how the energy of the songs is perceived. In fact, there are quite a few tracks herein that are built around fast picking patterns with a little bit of a thrashy sort of vibe, maybe loosely comparable to something like The Exploited but with more vocal activity going on. For instance, "And Again" is another faster track, as are "Shit for Brains" and "The Pain" - which is actually among the catchiest tracks on the disc, and not without a totally unexpected slow break with dissonant arpeggios and everything. "Delirium Tremens" opens with distorted bass and choppy lead melodies for a different sort of sound, while "Lie to Myself" has a similar intro, but variety or not, it's generally the faster tunes that stick with you. Elsewhere, "Breaking the Law" is a killer tune that of course rips off Judas Priest in tiny spurts, and "Forced to Eat Shit" mixes surprising speeds with boppy midpaced chord progressions. Lead track "Harsh Realities" is among the few that tends to be predominantly slower, but the entire record is actually very well balanced when it comes to tempo changes. The sound quality's about on par with the band's prior couple of records: A little rough around the edges, but fairly clear and balanced in the mix. The bass presence is pretty damn solid, crispy guitars that have just enough crunch are running the show, and the drums sound fine. Some of the vocal layering can get jumbled or overpowering, but not to the point where it becomes a problem. Visually it's the same as always for the band: Busy black and white illustrations and straight lyrics over black panels. Nothing unexpected or anything. The lyrics are the same balance of sarcasm and hints of fun tracks with more serious commentary on socio-political ills, but even the sarcastic stuff has some serious undertones in there. There's a little more of that approach this time out, with "Harsh Realities" among the only tracks that really gets down to business. I wouldn't call this the band's finest work, but it's still solid and has that Fleas and Lice sound to it, so I'm down with that. I can't imagine fans of the band being disappointed by this in any way, so... here's to the next one, which I guess should be coming out pretty soon!
[Rodent Popsicle]
Running time - 34:52, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Breaking the Law, Big Brother, The Pain]
Rodent Popsicle Records - http://www.rodentpopsicle.com
