No Use For a Name
Hard Rock Bottom
Fat
Hmm, looking back over past Ink 19 reviews, No Use For a Name has not fared very well.
This album won’t change that.
The problem is, NUFAN purports to be a punk band. But the infamous Fat Wreck Chords heavy-handed overproduction is in full effect here. Holy crap, when I hear a punk rock record, even a new school one, I do not want it to sound like it was produced by the same guy that did the last freaking Journey album. Doublespeed drumming, palm mutes, and Les Pauls through Marshalls are not gonna change the fact that when those nauseatingly perfect soaring harmony vocals (I am beginning to think that on the mixing board at any Fat Wreck session there is an actual button marked “cue nauseatingly perfect soaring harmony vocals”) kick in, the vocal track has been overtracked more times than on a damn Carpenters record.
This just ain’t punk rock kids. Punk rock does not include smarmy lyrics about “hearts waging war,” “the repetition of a lonely soul” and other sappy crap. That stuff is all over this album. Punk rock is not about doing a respectful cover (complete with guest female vocalist) of a Sinead O’Connor song, it’s about either messing with the original so much that it’s difficult to recognize at best, or changing the lyrics around so they make fun of the infamous baldie.
Could these guys make a decent punk rock record? Yes, I bet they could.
This ain’t it.
Go buy the new GC5 record instead.
Fat Wreck Chords: http://www.fatwreck.com
