Five tracks of heavy hardcore/punk with a street punk sort of edge from Sweden. The chord progressions are pretty basic hardcore/punk rock with a thick guitar sound, moderately fast and at times with a crusty sort of bite, and the street punk side comes in with the at times more prominent and winding basslines and the gruff style of the shouting vocals. The actual song "Penalty Time" also has a lot of backing vocals, a melodic lead, and a catchier framework that all bring in more punk influences and end up making for one of the best songs herein. Some of the other songs, like "Sentenced" especially, would probably come off as crustier tracks if played a little faster and with a more metallic sound or aggressive vocal style. To my surprise, the lyrically mixed bag "Unemployed" (which seems like a blend of lighthearted rowdiness and serious commentary with regards to unemployment problems) opens with a clean intro that's really quite dark, so the musical tone of the track really changes the appearance of some of the lyrical lines like, "Unemployed - nothing to do, Boredom - got to break through..." The production is fine. It's not polished or anything, but you can hear all of the instruments, the mix is even, and so on. For a self-released 7" it represents their sound well. I don't think they have too many kinks to work out at all. The record comes in a glossy color sleeve with a black and white insert that includes the lyrics. The songs deal with a variety of topics from more sarcastic attacks on spoiled rich kids (of course), to bitter calls to live life for yourself, or more serious issues like the abusive practices of companies who care more about cheap labor and profit than anything. Admittedly the layout's not that hot, but it gets the job done and does look clean. This is a good record. I'm not blown away, but it's good for what it is. Side B is stronger than side A, so I'd be curious to hear more from this band to get a stronger sense of where they're heading.
[self-released]
Running time - 13:00 (approximately), Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Penalty Time, Sentenced, Unemployed]
Penalty Time - http://www.penaltytime.net
