To Be Hated
Dance of Doom IV
(Sour Grapes Records)
myspace.com/tobehated
To Be Hated is a band of hardworking punk rockers, and to a certain degree, I've been exalting them like some newfound cancer-curing elixir or something to combat my rapidly balding pate.
I slipped this CD into the player in true Folgarian ass-backwardness (since this is their debut album and I am reviewing it last), and I am floored by the fact that they were this hardcore from the beginning.
This is a good disc, but I have to mention that this review is based on the fourth press of it and that maybe, just maybe, some things got tweaked along the way. There's creepy little children voices in this ("In Pace"). But it is good, gruffy punk rock performed with balls and teen angst and a devil-may-care attitude toward the world that we have all shared at some point in life regardless of whatever tribe we identify with.
There's nihilism here, short bursts of anger that go well with cheap wine like "Never," "$20," and "A Lantern & A Lighted Match." Even a little aggro-pop like "The Message" and the creeping creepy creepiness of "The Creep."
The personnel on this recording was the bitter leanings of Sour Jose on guitar, the dramatic antes of Texas Hold'em Levi on guitar, the artisanal makings of Tommy Cheese Stix on drums, and the rugged good looks of former GQ cover model Johnny Lovely on bass and vocals. It's not Rogaine, but it is good punk rock.
