Hangnail
Hangnail
Reviewed by David M. Pogge
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.