Ten Seconds to Liftoff is up first and is also not at all my thing. It's weird, quirky rock 'n' roll that's kind of a mix of rock, punk, and indie with some quick lead breaks and chords that are sort of angular, but the weak vocals just lack energy and sound off to me - not totally sung, not quite yelled. "Time to Play" is more punk inspired in style but still comes off as halfassed to me. It's not fast enough and the vocals just fall flat. The lyrics are also terribly cheesy rock tunes about music and rockin' and whatnot - but this band does not rock, trust me. The Answer Lies follows with some snotty sounding punk rock reminiscent of The Casualties without as much of a bite. It's not great, but they're decent at what they do and it's far better than side A. Expect fast and simple chords with varying aggression to the vocals. The lyrics have more of a message with one personal track and other topics such as war and domestic violence and stuff like that. Both bands sound slightly raw but suitable, nothing gets overly problematic. The Answer Lies has more of a balanced mix, though. If nothing else the layout looks good, with a crisply screenprinted sleeve and lots of clean red and black artwork using plenty of contrast. The 7" comes on clear blue vinyl as well. But, this isn't for me in the end. The Answer Lies saves face for the release, but Ten Seconds to Liftoff is fucking horrible. Nothing here really gets my attention, so...
[Dirt Culture]
Running time - 11:00 (approximately), Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Victims of the Status Quo, Train Yard]
Dirt Culture Records - http://www.dirtculture.com
