Originally published in Verbicide issue #4

There’s something beyond the music that I like about this $9 album. I’m not exactly sure what, but I think it’s the DIY feel this record has to it, despite being on a CD with a barcode, and not on vinyl with a cut-and-paste sleeve. There are lots of typos in the lyric sheet (only five of the 12 songs even have lyrics provided, you have to send away for the rest, which come with a poster), the recording is sub-par, and the artwork is simple (and pretty cool, too. The “skull butterfly” on the front is trippy). And yes, I like the music. No, it’s not anything I haven’t heard before — you know, the standard two-minute, old-school influenced punk rock songs. But it stands out, for sure. The three guys in the band all sing, and I really enjoy the songs that have vocal trade-offs. The bass is very prominent, akin to the Descendents, and overall the lyrics are quite derisive. The cover of The Gears’ “Darlin’ Baby” is great too, definitely mix-tape worthy. It shifts between sounding like a country song and swiftly changes “gears” to knee-slappin’ punk rock. Heh heh. Check these guys out. They’re from Flagstaff.

(Out of Step Records, PO Box 509, Vineburg, CA 95487)