It is often my thought when hearing something mediocre or
middle-of-the-road that rather than addressing it as such, I should rather
write it off along with the undisputedly shite. For, if mediocrity is the chief
characteristic of a record, particularly a Punk record, there truly is no
reason to invest in such a project. At least when you hear something terrible
you experience some sort of reaction and the dialogue between listener and
artist is encouraged.
Unfortunately, aside from the opening track “Divisadero” and
“Walk Alone”, which is perfectly executed sing-a-long Punk Rock, Hounds and
Harlots’ “The Good Fight” is about as inoffensive as music gets; slightly the
wrong side of whiney, with no distinct characteristics whatsoever and executed
in a competent manner but with virtually no flair, uniqueness or punch.
The resulting sound
feels generally quite saturated and grabs what seem to be the most clichéd and
tiresome elements of Punk Rock and proceeds to present them in a tiresome
manner. Whether it’s the weak Hardcore-like palm-muted guitars of “Yesterday’s Lies”
or the whinging vocals that characterise most of this album- this complacency
is truly detrimental to the work. I’m not going to pretend that the album isn’t
without its merits, and upon first hearing the charming opening track “Divisadero”
I was truly excited about what lay in wait. The disappointing follow up was
compensated for in “Walk Alone” but sadly I found it to be a substandard effort
from thereon in.
This isn’t an awful album, but perhaps I’d take more away
from it where it such.
