Lugnut
...like the dickens...
Reviewed by David Bixler
A lot of bands these days are playing punk in all sorts of different flavors. The harder old school sound has had a resurgence in recent years, and Lugnut is one of many bands to try their hands at it. And, with a name like Lugnut, what else are you going to play but punk? Overall, this CD has a decidedly punk feel to it. The songs are very short, the drumming and simple chord progressions are played insanely fast, and the vocals are comprised primarily of the fast "chopped talk" style, for lack of a better term. Musically, absolutely nothing stands out to me. There is nothing I haven't heard before, and the musical arrangements I find to be quite mediocre. Granted, these guys are tight while they are playing, which can't be said about a lot bands in this genre, so their sound is cohesive. In my opinion, however, that is the only thing going for it. Lyrically, there is a potpourri of ideas. The CD starts off with "Pointless Education," with a line that states: "I can't help but sit and wonder / what's the point in all this trouble / I'd rather be wastin' money / on B.K. Tenders or the local Wendy's / . . . / I hate skool". Sounds pretty immature to me, but this is punk rock, right? They also have a tribute to Indiana Jones ("Jones Chronicles"), a song about the pains of growing up ("Growing up Sux"), as well as several songs about girls. There are also several songs that have Scripture references included, which is nice amidst most of the generic punk lyrics. They even do a version of "I Love You, Lord" punk style, but the singing comes across as very insincere, producing a very anticlimactic reaction to a very good praise and worship song. If it isn't obvious already, I find nothing spectacular about this disc. It is, at best, just average old school punk. If you just can't get enough punk to whet your appetite, you will probably like this CD. I believe I will shy away though.