 This album was a pleasant surprise. I didn't go into this looking for much besides mass-produced gutter punk, and I was amazed at just how good it was. So much so, that I can't say that there are any bad songs on this album. "Calemocho" and "Say Goodbye" aren't exactly the pinnacle of musical genius, but they're not bad. Not to say this album is perfect. It's a great effort, and I can say with certainty that it achieves its goal. It provides good fast punk that has some flair for the old school, but doesn't really push the envelope.
How can I describe the sound? Think "The Clash" meets "The Toadies". It's got some good push to it, and just enough flash to be reminiscent of the better days of punk, before mainstream exposure and soulless mass production killed a once proud genre On another note, "Oh Sweetheart" is the album's resident ballad, but it's excusable. I suppose everyone has to have one, and a ballad about bombs dropping is better than most ballads, so I'll take it. Worthless United shows some excellent instrumentation here. It's not sloppy, it meshes well, and all around, it sounds as though some real thought went into making this one work. It's a shot in the arm for underground punk. With some refinement, and the proper promotion, this could be a powerhouse band. I can't really pick a best song here. Although there aren't really any bad songs to be had, there also aren't any songs that particularly blew me away. And that, in its own right, is a detriment to the album. It sounds like Worthless United took the safe road from start to finish. There's nothing new here, no experimentation, no innovation, nothing that really stands out as unique. I will concede, however, that the opposing vocalists add a nice touch of harmony to the album, and adds a dimension of versatility that many bands don't possess. It allows Worthless United to be harsh when it counts, and smoother when necessary, without the embarrassment of having a singer who's out of his range. This is one of the album's main strengths, is the melodic solidity. And there are some good songs to be had. "I Am Nothing" starts the album off on the right foot, and the ball gets rolling from there. Towards the middle, take notice of "On and On" and "A Nation Under," which are the best back to back duo to be found here. Towards the end, "Ghost" is an excellent work, and then the whole experience finished softly with "Walker," a decent epilogue to what had just occurred. Said and done, this is an album of good, honest punk, and nobody can deny them that. There may not be a lot of experimenting going on here, but it everyone had the integrity of Worthless United, punk wouldn't be in so much trouble. A solid 7. |
