Labels: Sub City
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Hey, this record must be hardcore because I cut my finger when opening the packaging. Woah.
Let us start with Kid Dynamite. Because they are better. First up is “Heart A Tact” which kicks of in good ole school sorta straight forward melodic hardcore fashion, then breaksdown into a catchy chug chug. You gotta love their vocals because Jason rules. They have the best gang backup bellows as well. After that is “Breakin’s A Memory” which just bounces a long superfast with great rolling drums, more cool singing and “woah woah” chants. Great great! Things are wound up on “Rise Above”, the intro to this kills! Awesome drumming and guitars, and great finger pointing “Rise Above!” chants. Sorta like that old straight edge hardcore stuff but maybe more melodic. Oh, hang on. It’s a Black Flag cover. Ah.
Wow. I am dead impressed with the KD stuff, it’s an awesome progression from the album, they’re getting better and better. They do still sound a bit like Lifetime (particularly on “Breakin’s A Memory”), but that’s a problem? I thought not. They also have a cool new skull logo which I want a t-shirt of.
I was aprehensive about 88 Fingers, and with good reason. But first song, “Out There” kicks my stupid ass. Really pounding and fast, angry melodic hardcore stuff. Not quite as great as the Kid D, but decent enough. Shame they revert to Fat form on the other 2 songs. “Slow Chorus Overlap” has that repetetive drum beat, and would be ok if only the vocalist wasn’t that guy who sings on all the other fat bands that sound like this. It’s average, but no more. Not as good as Otherwise. Finally, “Reperation” which is yer basic poppy melodic hardcore. I could like this, I just can’t abide the singing.
Kid Dynamite rule! 88 Fingers are just a band.