The Ducky Boys are a band who like to keep things simple. Hailing from Boston USA, they became popular alongside fellow punks The Dropkick Murphys, but never achieved anything like the same status as Al Barr’s crew.
Musically they’re not altogether unlike the Dropkicks, but their style is back to basics rock n’ roll. Set first track ‘Celebrate’ running and Mark Lind’s Springsteen-like vocals followed by a euphoric guitar riff feel more power rock than punk rock.
However his voice also contains enough of a snarl to remind you that this is a Boston band, and sure enough ‘The Middle Children Of History’ follows with street-punk urgency. However, on the whole the album suffers from a major flaw. In their efforts to create a meat and potatoes sound it feels like they have gone a step too far. The majority of the songs on this release have a bland, monotonous feel to them. Lind’s voice is full of character, but due to the lack of melodic inventiveness its potential is never properly realised.
Pace-y number ‘Kids’ offers a ray of light as Lind explores his range and things seem to get interesting, but it’s a temporary respite. Lyrically the subject matters offered are so typical that it’s hard to really feel them as they drift past the ears. Things pretty much hit rock bottom when yawn-inducing number ‘This Time Last Year’ really couldn’t be a more typical ‘slowy”. The odd track, such as the solid thump of ‘Corporate America’ would do for a backing tune to a drunken dance, but all in all ‘The War Back Home’ does little to grab the attention.
www.duckyboys.com
Sailor’s Grave Records
Alex