Dr. Know

Habily: What Was Old Is New

Cleopatra

Unsavory and uncompromising, Dr. Know reminds us that the ugly beast brewing under the shiny, filtered pop-punk today is alive and lurking. On this oddly headed record, the return of filthy, guttural rock has returned, minus polishing and catchy melody. Although Habily may walk the line between derivation and utter madness, it is good to know their stability lies within the chaos they have created.

Rather than rely on overly political, self-serving rants of this type of work, Dr. Know relies on the sheer ferocity of punk ala the Dead Kennedys. Although the satirical overtones of the latter might be suppressed, songs like “In That House” and “Deprogram” are inserted to ensure their early inspirations remain intact. The vocals might have been carelessly molded by Johnny Rotten and Jello. The guitars might rewind to the same starting notes for each song. But, the spurts of violent noise that are essentially every track on Habily will preoccupy you enough to forego criticism this time around.

Cleopatra Records, 13428 Maxella Ave., PMB 251, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, http://www.cleorecs.com

Kiran Aditham