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Hi Sorry State readers! How ya doing? Things are pretty chill on my end. Hope you guys enjoyed our Best of 2022 newsletter. We had a lot of fun with it. Big props to our fearless leader Daniel for putting that beast together.
This would have been my staff pick last week if it were a normal week. I’m talking about the Blatant Dissent 1985-1986 LP. The Chicago-area band made its mark in the mid-80s, with their major influence being Naked Raygun, and also Minutemen, Trial by Fire, and the Replacements.
The record sounds really good, quality-wise, and that’s probably because the ‘85 tracks were produced and engineered by Jeff Pezzati (singer for Naked Raygun) and Iain Burgess, respectively. The ‘86 tracks were recorded by Steve Albini. I love Albini’s recording style, and he’s just such a great character in this whole rock machine.
Ok let’s get back on track. This is a solid midwest 80s hardcore punk record. If you like that style, you will probably like this. Because it really is likable. For lack of a better description, it’s the “woahhh-ohhh-ohhh” kind of punk. You know what I mean. When you hear it, you picture young punks in the 80s with their arms over one another’s soldiers swaying back and forth chanting that very phrase.
It’s really melodic hardcore punk, and fairly straightforward. But they throw some curveballs every once in a while. It’s mostly mid-tempo, but there are some well-timed tempo and structural changes, and some unexpected riffs and guitar solos. Catalyst (They, They, They) includes some classic rock and roll style guitar and even some funk.
The songs are very hooky and high-energy.
Songs like How Can I Lose show their artsy punk side, and some of their fun and bouncy choruses remind me of the Ramones’ “let’s just have fun and not kill each other” style of punk. On the flip side, there are songs like Status Quo which really picks up speed and leans more hardcore. In fact, the whole record goes back and forth between 80s midwest punk and melodic hardcore.
I prefer side two because it has more attitude and I think it just sounds tighter, musically. A good example of this is The Man in Black, which is one of my favorite tracks.
I also have to highlight The Beast, because I love the music in that one. There is a darker sounding riff that stands out from the rest. I might botch this description, but it sounds like something you’d hear in an 80s movie whenever a group of teens is preparing for some kind of mission. Picture the vampire and civilian showdown in The Lost Boys or something.
The last track, (My Hands are Tied), caught me off guard. The music starts out sounding like a gloomy early Metallica song, but with off key emo vocals. But like 40 seconds in, they remember they’re a punk band and bring it home. After hearing the song a few times, I think it’s amusing. Especially for the closing track. Maybe the band didn’t mean for it to be funny, but it is.
Blatant Dissent sounds like what I imagine Sluggo may have sounded like all grown up. I brought up Sluggo only because I just wrote about them a couple staff picks ago, but Naked Raygun is a better comparison.
You get your money’s worth with this record. You get a ton of tracks on quality vinyl, and the color is a really cool deep ocean blue. We only have a handful left, so grab one and see what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Angela