Ackley Kid- self titled CD review

Ackley Kid- self-titled CD review

These dudes from Kalamazoo came a little out of the blue to me- who knew there was energetic, pissed-off hardcore in this town?  I certainly didn’t.  It is also worth noting that, in the past six months or so (it’s May 2012 as I write this), Kalamazoo has had a burgeoning DIY music scene- there are so many acts passing through there, it’s unreal.  Though they aren’t always punk or hardcore acts, any kind of DIY activity is a great addition to any music scene.  Anyways, onto this album, from a group taking their name from a popular J.D. Salinger novel…

This is a good hardcore record and band, but there’s something weird about them that I can’t quite pinpoint.  The vocals are probably the main contributor supporting this indescribable weirdness, because the singer’s voice is a mishmash of guttural, shrilly, and shout-y screams- so very odd, but it fits the music, I suppose.  The guitar, too, is a bit frantic in nature- there’s certainly a foundation of power chord hardcore, but the noise jumps all over the place, making for an interesting listen, albeit an enjoyable one.  Drums and bass are more steady, but still seem asymmetric compared to normal hardcore.  The lyrics are largely internally related, being a decent fit for a band named after one of literature’s more internalized characters.  Though this is a decent hardcore record, I get an inexpressible feeling saying that this record is just off, whether it’s off-the-beaten-path or off the end into the shitty abyss.  Crisp, clear, weird, 80s-90s hardcore, it can certainly be dug, despite its oddities.

-Aunty Social