"Hospitals"- Off With Their Heads

   “Hospitals” by Minnesota’s Off With Their Heads is a jaunty trounce through a flower bed of depression. There’s something about this band’s ability to marry together sentiments reminiscent of introspective convictions of inadequacy with ferocious punk- rock that leaves the listener quite shaken. Although, any OWTH enthusiast should have an idea of what they’ve let themselves in for from opening track “Die Today” which articulates beautifully and concisely the hopelessness of depression and throws into the context of everyday life and the desire to escape.
    The band then go on to cement the premise that their sound is characteristically soul- destroying yet joyous with “Theme Song” which features the wonderful lyric “Life’s got the best of me, now I just want to drop to my knees,  scream, and punch the concrete until my hands bleed”. It feels as though Ryan Young and co. specialise in exposing the deepest and darkest corners of their personalities only to keep the beasts at bay with soaring melodies and an “I don’t give a fuck” facade. It feels, in short, like this is a band passed caring and in reluctant acceptance of a very morbid fate indeed (the only near- solution to which is to chronicle every moment of melancholy in audio form). The only respite from this- or possible respite depending on how you view the lyrics- is the track “Idiot” which on first listen seems like a bit of a joke- a 20 second gambit typical of a punk- rock outfit not taking themselves too seriously. Then you remember who you’re listening to, and even the phrase “you’re a fucking idiot” seems introspective and motivated by self- loathing.
   Such suspicions are more than confirmed by the end of the album, as Mr Young proclaims that “he’d rather be in New York doing heroin again” and then recants a traumatic trip to the hospital to a trudging, relentless beat that sounds like a depressed entity dragging itself through your consciousness before collapsing and rotting in even the most inaccessible recesses of your brain. Fantastic.