I'm a big believer in greasy stoners with torn clothes crawling over cheap equipment making an ungodly racket. It's basically the backbone of what I write about. It's kind of our thing. So when I find a band that really takes that formula and knocks it out of the park, I get really, really hype.
Dicks From Mars, two teenagers coming all the way from Perdido Florida, are a band that I am more than willing to get hype over. Their second album, appropriately titled Harder, captures the heyday of American hardcore in not only sound, but energy, harnessing whatever mad half-angst, half-rage je ne se quiois that made all of those bands while still giving the genre a good kick in the ass.
Harder isn't what anybody would call a masterfully produced album, but I've always been a sucker for blown-out, fuzzy records. It adds charm. It's tinny, a little loud, but it does its job. The music slides between a Minor Threat/State of Alert/Bad Brains style of breakneck punk rock and Dead Milkmen melodic punk n' roll with wild abandon.
"That Kid" is a highlight, a classic sounding punk track that conjures the best of The Damned. It has a motherfucking guitar solo. What happened to guitar solos in punk? They seem to have disappeared along with what was left of Rick ta Life's sanity.
"DFM PSA" is hilarious, a mid-album Public Service Announcement decrying sell-outs and people who don't want to sell-out in equal measure.
It's not all jaunty punk though. "Minor Dicks" is exactly what you'd think it is, a dope Minor Threat cover. "Childhood" is nearly heavy enough to be crossover thrash.
The album is short, punchy, and it left me wanting more. I live near these thrashers and that makes pretty nervous. Anyone that makes this music must be a bit of a scumbag. The last thing I need is to come home and find two teenagers stealing my synthesizers or something.
you can stream it here: dicksfrommars.bandcamp.com/releases
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