While their name may suggest nerve-wracking anguish and irritation, Hangnail deliver quite the opposite with their soothing blend of quality pop pleasure for your well tuned listening ears. As is becoming the trend for the Brandon Ebel / Tooth & Nail empire, this album is melodic punk rock through and through. Luckily, for all of us who are growing weary of the recent excess of this genre, Hangnail pull out of the tide of common three-chord punk and establish a signature sound that truly stands out among the throngs of MxPx clones. These guys' CD towers must be packed with metal classics. There are times where, if you added some fog, lights, a little bit of hair spray and some operatic vocals, you'd have Cinderella all over again. Don't let that stop you from giving this disc a chance, though. While they definitely dabble in some old school metal sounds, Hangnail don't in anyway back away from their punk rock roots. There's no cheese here. The only way these guys may wander off from the path of nonconformity is that they show an unusual amount of technical proficiency in their music. These young punksters have a lot of creative elements that the average band in this genre would only dream of having. Lots of monster riffs, tight harmonies and larger than life sing-along choruses saturate this CD from start to finish. From that description, you'd think it was metal, wouldn't you? Complimenting the pop melodies are the uplifting lyrics. Sometimes serious, sometimes tongue in cheek, these lyrics display a great sense of humor, but more importantly a devotion to Christ that could touch the most jaded of hearts. Imagine if the vocalist for Craig's Brother (a little less nasal), got together with Slick Shoes' Jackson and decided to put out a catchy pop punk album with Jackson's shredding leads and riffs to complement the melody. Hangnail would be the result. I give two thumbs up to this latest wave to crash ashore in the ever-growing tide of melodic punk rock.
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2000Reviewed by ConradThis is pretty much an MxPx based pop-punk album. If you put a little more Slick Shoes guitar in there with vocals that don't really stand out a whole lot this is what you would have. The main aspect that I thought was good about this band was the guitarist - he was great. Unfortunately the songs didn't utilize his talents enough for my taste. If there were more guitar work many of the songs…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianSomebody has to tell me, what is the deciding factor between if a band gets put on BEC or Tooth and Nail Records? Why even have the two separate labels, this band could have easily been on Tooth and Nail with the other 10 new punk rock bands they just signed. I guess maybe it's something I will never really understand. I have noticed that the BEC bands seem to be more spiritual in their lyrical…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by TimGeez, could they be any more normal. My girlfriend hated this so much she made me take it out of the tape player until she got out of the car. There is absolutely nothing special about this cd. At the same time, it was so bland that I can't remember anything to criticize. It just wasn't interesting. CThe Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Josh SpencerHangnail is one of those punk bands that sound best as a single track on a compilation. They're yet another variety of the MxPx guy vocal/pop punk style that's so popular with the youngsters. Lots of "Whoa-oh-oh" choruses combined with tight, very competent rhythms. Their trick in the bag is their lead guitarist, but they only let him out on a couple of tracks--"Friendly Advice," with its '80s…ReAL Magazine 1999Reviewed by Kevin D. HendricksHangnail is a four piece punk band from southern Wisconsin. They're a young band and from what I can tell, completely unheard of. But BEC Records usually knows what they're doing, and I think they discovered a talented bunch with Hangnail. Their self titled debut CD isn't exactly Grammy material. It probably won't turn too many heads. But you have to respect it for what it is. High school punk…Bandoppler 1999Reviewed by Earl CampbellOut went Value Pac, enter the pop-punk melodies of Hangnail from Wisconsin. With refined, mature vocals and obvious musical talent, they cruise through their self-titled debut full-length - an album that exudes spit-polished production value. More emphasis on the pop, but all the basic elements of punk rock are present: power chords, masked metal riffs, and speedy breakdowns. Only one thing…Similar sounding releases
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