First up, a disclaimer. Or more an advance ‘Fuck you’ to anyone who says to themselves that I am missing the point. I’m well aware of the intended point. It’s not subtle and you’re a pathetic, whining, message board hugging twat incapable of face to face, adult interaction. But, this band have produced another frustrating record. So obviously talented, so happy to adopt the NoFX style piss-around-every-other-song-thing that just about no other band other than the masters themselves can do.
The Hard-Ons have been doing it since I was a little ‘un, so far be it from me to question them. They’ve done it well for decades. They aren’t just another saccharin sweet Australian punk band. Except that – they are. In places anyway. And this new record is great in parts, but a bit too bland in places and deliberately ‘nothing’ in others. A ballady style pop song (Feisty) is followed by a thrash tune (In The End We All Die Alone) and only the faintest chorus comes in for a bit. It’s varied, but almost for varied sake.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. It’s keeping old school punk – Australian roots punk – alive. The Bigwig style moments are something a bit special. But some of the time, it just makes me you want to reach for an old Frenzal Rhomb record. And the Hard-Ons are so much better than that statement makes them sound.
Mike