Crashdog

Item: Cashists, Fascists, and Other Fungus
Author: Michael Klein

Cashists, Fascists, and Other Fungus

(1995)

Reviewed by Michael Klein

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music TIDAL Spotify

Label Grrr RecordsThe LighthouseOctober 1995

hardcore punk punk

Crashdog is back and they are angry. The punk band, with a slightly altered lineup, has released Cashists, Fascists, And Other Fungus and they are not being shy about their feelings. Politics, the music industry, abortion clinic killings, the decline of the family and the war in the former Yugoslavia are just a few of the topics that bug this band.

Like most punk bands, they do not see much positive in mankind's response to what is going on in the world. Unlike other punk bands, however, they at least have an absolute standard upon which to make these judgments.

Spike Nard, the original lead vocalist, has left the band and has been replaced by Andrew Mandell. The difference between the two seems to be that Mandell has even more edginess to his voice. As he screams the lyrics, I am convinced that his voice will crack at any moment. Yet somehow, song after song, he manages to keep it together.

A punk rock song can be described as a drum and bass providing a loud, but usually not very complex, rhythm in the background, a guitar playing the same couple of riffs as loud and distorted as possible and a vocalist who sings/screams a poem that is more coupled to the rhythm than any melody generated by the guitar. On most songs the only way that Crashdog deviates from this template is that the vocals are mixed more "in front" of the music and are done in a way that allows a listener to understand what the singer is saying. On a couple of the other songs, Crashdog shows more variety and ultimately demonstrates that they play in the punk style because they like it, not because they have to.

The rest of the band shows versatility that one might not expect on a punk album. In portions of some of the songs the musicians are playing in a manner that would not be out of place on a "Seattle sound" or grunge album, only the vocals are continually in the screaming minimalist punk style.

There is a loose theme that runs through the songs-the distrust of any authority apart from God. In most of the songs they place themselves as observers of various situations and then describe the problems. It also should be noted that these songs are not big on supplying specific answers to these problems, and that can bother some people.

In their last release, the band did a song about fishing-not exactly a topic you would expect on a punk release. For this album, they tried a couple of unconventional things. For one song, they combined with a cellist and a bagpiper from the Celtic folk band, The Crossing, as well as a female singer. They also joined with The Clergy to do a cover version of "Eve Of Destruction." Both of these are highlights on the album.

This is not a happy recording and I would not recommend it for someone who is just looking for pleasant background music. However, someone who is ready to face some challenging lyrics presented in a punk style should definitely give this album a listen.