School Drugs : "Funeral Arrangements"

This New Jersey band gets serious about playing old school hardcore punk, or perhaps just punk, depending on what era you are referring to. There is more of a metallic bite to "Can't Slow" down, which, at a minute and a half, still gets the job of punk done. At times, they remind me of GBH or the Exploited in the snarl of their sound. These guys are legit. "Plastic Promise" required 3 listens before I paid attention. It starts off very deliberate, then blasts off in the more expected temper tantrum. They do pretty well with the minute allotted for "No Taste." 

The bass line for "Broken": starts off likea hyper hyper-aggressive version of Motorhead until they take it to a darker place. "Cold Hearted" feels likea more pumped up version of "New Rose". Not a bad place for a punk band to be. There is more melody to "Epicedium," which I am glad they prove themselves capable of. "Haunted" carries a darker tension with the energy of punk keeping the propulsion. The synth under 'Work Forever" brings the Murder City Devils to mind. "With Sympathy' is more straightforward but works for what they do. The clunk of the bass keeps "Feel Like Shit" moving. It's a punk trope I have always liked. They are darker and more melodic on the title track that closes the album, but they balance this with the same explosive energy that has driven the album. I will give this a 9.5. If I had found it earlier might have made my top 10 punk albums list. Will keep an eye out for what the future holds for this band.

pst653