02 June 2015

BORED STRAIGHT


BORED STRAIGHT started just before I left Milwaukee, and I only got to see them a couple of times in their infancy - they were good, but it's obvious listening to these final four bangers that I left town before they really hit their stride. Sure, they play hardcore influenced by the '00s bands they grew up on (and the '80s bands that those bands grew up on), but these kids absolutely bring something new to the table without trying to reinvent anything. It's a part of living just enough off the map to be allowed to go about things as you like - punks in Milwaukee aren't going to nitpick your sound. If you want to take start/stop fastcore with manic riffing and inject the misanthropic weirdness of JESUS LIZARD then the kids in the basement are still gonna get wasted and throw beer everywhere while you play...and the dozen or so people who are actually studying are going to quietly nod their approval. The only thing wrong with this tape is that there are only four songs, roughly six minutes that send the band off on the highest note possible. The aptly titled Final Session comes with a review written by a friend of the band, a review that pretty much nails the sound and serves as an epilogue at the same time: BORED STRAIGHT is an underdog, which is a concept that I think a lot of people understand, but never really gets talked about...they get to play with bands that are hyped or popular and are probably never the band that anyone goes to the show to see. Maybe if they had been from somewhere cool, more people would have paid attention. Then again, maybe if they had been from somewhere cool, they wouldn't have been this good.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahaha, these guys are not kids :)
I know the guys in the band, they were on my first label released comp
(which I messaged you about Conquest For Death possibly being on Vol. 2,
but you didn't respond).
https://spasticfantastic.bandcamp.com/album/va-thrash-up-my-ass-tape-2
Members of Bored Straight were in TxAxBx (Thrash And Burn), Failed Mutation, Dead Issue, and Tenament.
Such a philosophical review, haha, the guys would get a kick out of this
post !:)

the wizard said...

I know the guys in the band are not "kids", at least in the traditional sense of the word, but "kids" is a term that use generically to describe punks - an ode to the youthful energy that both inspires and is inspired by the sound and the scene. And I know the fellows in the band as well, solid bunch of folks. Maybe they get a kick out of the write up, maybe not, but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the most under appreciated bands in recent memory, at least based on the strength of this cassette. Skipping their show with LEATHER is still a great regret....I had every intent, but I actually could not stay awake that day, the RW24 is a pretty massive commitment. Failed Mutation: amazing. Dead Issue: crushing. TAB: wish I had seen them, but they sound like the good kind of chaos. Tenement: I might be the only punk on earth who doesn't love them, but I'll go see them whenever I get the chance, because the live show is great. As for that comp....yeah, I'm bad at writing back. Give me a shout for Vol. 3, because we got new songs...

Unknown said...

I'll be the first from the band to thank you whole-heartedly for the awesome review! ShitI don't mind being called a kid. "I'm gonna stay young until I die!"