We Have Your Daughter!,
5 Cent DepositI'm not sure what's in the water over on Long Island but it's certainly creating some bands. Many of them have gone on to become major players, Glassjaw and The Movielife spring to mind, but it's Deck Cheese's latest signings 5 Cent Deposit who are making now inroads from across the pond. Currently on tour with labelmates Not Katies the band have been described as a cross between Green Day, NOFX and The Ramones and there are slight similarities between the three. But let's get it clear from the outset - in no way are 5CD anywhere near as good as those legendary bands.
'We Have Your Daughter' is no-brainer pop-punk with bite, there's a certain MxPx feel to it as well and you could compare it to Mike Herrera's vocal style in the 'Pokinatcha' years, just without any political or religious slant. But whilst there are similarities, 5CD don't compare to the genuine article. There are plenty of moments which will have you humming along, but it's a little too disposable for my liking with the fleeting glimpses of genuine brilliance washed away by moments of averageness. I've heard this a million times before and heard it done better.
Openers 'On my Own' and 'Bird On A Wire' set the tone - tracks which are fast and hard-hitting with catchy choruses, but it's not really anything that will set the world alight. Infact the more you listen to it the more tiresome it gets. Lyrically you sense the band won't be winning any Pulitzer prizes, imagine Blink 182 in nappies and you have songs like 'Pisshead', which while catchy on the first few plays is really a crap song. NOFX are an obvious influence and at times John's vocals mirror Fat Mike's a little too much with snotty sneers spat down the mic. The slower 'Things Ain't Fine' isn't much better, the lyrics this time would possibly even fail your GCSE English - it's unoriginal tripe I'm afraid.
Unfortunately, the odd moment aside, this is how the rest of the album continues. 'Village Idiots' is nice enough but 'Gutter Christ' is awful. 'Johnny' and 'Stupid Me' are two of the better songs even if it is generic pop-punk and it's moments like these which saves this record from a complete panning. If you're a fan of Guttermouth and Homegrown then you'll probably enjoy 5 Cent Deposit. However this record is a disappointment and doesn't really fill me with too much confidence that they will produce the goods live.
This will be lapped up by a lot of people but I think there are far better bands out there. It's a record which is decent but not fantastic and possibly the first time Deck Cheese have put out a record which isn't great. A label that has bands at the top of their respective genres, I guess we can let one mistake pass. But released at the same time as the new Fletcher and Vanilla Pod albums, I have a feeling this one may (rightly) pass a few folks by.
Paul
