Austin Town Hall

Rating:

The Spits are technically five albums into their career, but the odds are they’ve written more than that, with limited edition pressings and such.  If you’ve followed the group, then you’re accustomed to their sound; it’s pop punk if you washed it with fresh sewer water.  Yeah, I said it, and I’m going to say I love it.

“All I Want” blasts out from the beginning, bringing you a bit of dark edged punk, though the lyrics lean towards a bit of a love song.  It’s the great dichotomy of The Spits brand of rock n’ roll. They’ll take you on an even more furious ride with the next track, “My Mess,” which definitely has a sloppier feeling to the vocals.  Don’t get stuck on this one too long, as it’s pretty much over almost as quickly as it started, closing out with steady machine gun drumming and odd bits of telephone noise.

Perhaps one of the things that seems to differ on Volume V is the steady inclusion of this slacker, or subdued vocal.  It’s as if singer, Sean Spits is relaxing while the rest of the group blasts through each track.  Lead single from the album, “My Life Sucks” see the band pushing forcefully towards the end, while Sean seems to lackadaisically lay his stories atop the tune.  It’s not so much the lyrical content that does well to break up the monotony of typical punk fare, but the overall delivery, pushing a different spin on punk rock.

For me, it’s tracks like “Fed Up” and “Acid Rain” that grab at my punk heartstrings.  They’ve got a much more traditional feel, not that I necessarily need that, but that’s definitely where nostalgia and appreciation for modern punk meet.  I even feel as if I hear a bit of The Riverdales in “Fed Up,” but perhaps that’s just wishful thinking on my part.  It’s everything a good old punker needs: simple and fast–the perfect recipe.

Interestingly, The Spits never seem like they’re willing to settle in one place, which is perhaps why they’ve attracted me so much over the last several years.  Closing number “Last Man on Earth” has this Ian Drury approach to the songwriting, all placed over what seems to be a synthesized drum beat. This isn’t the sort of thing you’d expect from a band such as this, but its successful because it never grows stale, always giving you something to look forward to, or at least talk to your friends about in the end.

Regardless of whether the group is up your alley or night, you’ve got to appreciate the fact that they’re not settling for your run of the mill punk rock.  They’re pushing the boundaries, even within their own group, making Volume V as in enjoyable, if not more so, than all their previous records.  You’ve gotta love the Spits, and if you don’t, you’re missing out.

Download: The Spits – My Life Sucks [MP3]