It would be much easier to like Dregs of Society if this record wasn’t full of so much, for want of a better term, extra-curricular gumpf. Across the board these 10 tracks clock in at nearly 31 minutes but truth be told only about half of that is actual music. The rest is inane banter, strange voices and some OTT amateur dramatics. Yes there’s room in punk music for humour and fun but it’s always a good start to actually play accomplished music as well.
Okay, it’s not all bad. Slap bang in the middle of ‘Major Drainage’ is a three-in-a-row combo that shines a pleasant light on the band. “Lobster Liberation” may not be a lyrical masterpiece but the acoustic strings and gentle approach sits nicely alongside “Coybe”, a brass-laden skacore number with big guitars. Flanking these, “Kelly’s Inn” is a decent enough up tempo affair with a shout-along chorus. Package these three tracks together as a demo and you’re onto something.
But this isn’t a three tracker, frustratingly so. Whilst “Dregstep 1, 2, 3” is a rather unique attempt at tongue-in-cheek urban ska it still feels foolish. Throw away four superfluous tracks of random drivel and you’re left with two tracks. “Feel the Rage” is leg-flailing skacore which is decent in brass but a bit rubbish in the vocal department. “Pysche” is an interchangeable number that doesn’t really offer up anything different to the song before it, except a little PJ and Duncan aping that is.
You get the sense that ‘Major Drainage’ is built around a group of friends coming together for the sheer hell of it with the intention of pissing about as much as possible. You know, that’s not a bad attitude. The problem that presents itself though is that aside from an audience of pre-pubescent teens it’s hard to see who this record would appeal to.
Alex