Got Punk? Well, maybe. I haven't heard an album this confused in a long time. Ninety Pound Wuss, an established Christian punk band on T&N Records, continues to cultivate their widening range of influences with their latest release.
One of the few things I expect to hear on a punk record is electronics. But the opening song, "Short Hand Operation", employs a spooky industrial electronic intro, with modern rock type guitars building in the background, before after two minutes the band starts screaming along old school punk style. Huh? Talk about confusing! This continues throughout the album, sometimes switching from pop industrial to old-school punk to pop-punk all in one song, as in "Nostalgia." The eerie instrumental "It Seems So Far Away" employs the electronic element fairly well, but seems so out of place as to be ludicrous. Innovation may be the cited motivation, but the main effect of the electronic and pop moments is in distracting attention away from the bland old-school punk material that fills the majority of the album.
Still, the growing process of Ninety Pound Wuss is evident. From a band that has gone from selling out large clubs and venues, to an almost complete line-up change, then to being kicked off stage while playing for churches, this album is less a catharsis than it is an attempt at healing. The maturity of the band is obvious, the tortured lyrics often reflecting an unveiling of inner torment and self-realization, as on "Fulfilled":
We all call for change
It's automatic
I've come to expect this little from you
It all ends in tears, anyway...
and then "Nostalgia":
It seem so far away...(repeating sample intro)
My heart feels light
Nostalgia
I wish we could go on and on and on
Production by Steve Kravac is good, with sharp tones and beats, although he could have helped the band more with integrating their new style elements. Ninety Pound Wuss deserves some credit for growing their own style, but this album's schizophrenic musical influences are too diverse and muddled.
2 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #78Reviewed by Ben MengdenI hope this album sells like crazy; easily my favorite work of 90 lb. to date. Short Hand Operation is along the same lines as their previous album, Where Meager Die of Self Interest, but is even more brilliant. Now if you still don't believe me, you can keep reading. Simply put, 90 lb.'s old school, punk sound and post-punk inventiveness (especially seen on Where Meager...) is portrayed in…Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestThe album before this one, Where Meager Die Of Self Interest, was not my type of album. It was a raw album. The drums were quite hollow-sounding and the whole recording sounded as if it was done in a cellar. Still, it wasn't a bad album, though. With Short Hand Operation the band did it differently. It's no longer as raw and compromiseless. The drums don't sound hollow and over all it's more…Similar sounding releases
2005Dropkick MurphysThe Singles Collection Volume 2 (1998-2004)
2005Strike AnywhereTo Live in Discontent
2000Old School 101Pura Vida
2005Bear vs. SharkTerrorhawk
2003None More BlackFile Under Black
2002The Curse / Go! For the Throat / Knives Out / Paint It BlackThe Philadelphia Sound
