Vice Dolls
Die Trying
Crosscheck Records
Hardcore with a soul. That’s the thought that crosses my mind as I read the lyrics sheet included with this angry, dense thrash album from Vice Dolls. Fronted by scrunchy voiced Carrie Nance, the opening line of “Die Trying” is the plaintive “If someone read my words, I wonder what would strike them first?” Well, when I listen to the sound, I think, “just anther wound up tight set of punkers.” But when I actually READ the lyrics, I think, “what a sensitive set of poems.” Topics cover lost friends and loves, human rights and all these other things punks “officially” don’t care about, but sneak in when they need a topic for a song and can bury the sensitivity under over-modulated guitars and mechanistic drumming.
I’ve always been in favor of requiring lyrics sheets, mostly so I can figure out just what the group is singing about. Here’ a case where the lyrics make a better sales pitch for the group than the music. Cody Pruitt’s bass guitar is competent, if uninspired. The drumming Greg Jaeger hammers out bores, even when in time. The band as a whole seems pointed in a nihilistic direction that wastes the songwriting skills they have in a rage of hopeless anger. Take these words, set them out where they can be heard, and while it won’t change the world, it might make it a more interesting place to talk about.
Crosscheck Records: http://www.crosscheckrecords.com • Vice Dolls http://www.thevicedolls.com/
