Hot Track Alert

The Suspects: Mommy

Buy from Sorry State

"Mommy" originally appeared on 90s DC punk band the Suspects' first 7", but those tracks have been paired with their Voice of America LP for Grave Mistake's reissue. "Mommy" is about as straightforward as a punk song can get, but I think that's why I love it... the big, broad melodies immediately recall the early, Static Age-era Misfits, but more than that the song reminds me of a time when Social Distortion-style walking bass lines were permissible, when you could both sing and scream in the same song... in a word, when aesthetic expression wasn't hamstrung by the unspoken edict that you have to pick a sub-sub-genre and stick with it.