Stick
Together- Surviving the Times EP review
Steeped in classic NYHC youth crew
cheesiness and the genuine honesty that only comes with being young, Stick
Together’s second helping of modern hardcore with an overwhelming dose of
straight edge is hit and miss, about half and half. “End It” is the most notable track on the EP;
it’s a real two-step mosher, skanker, danceable tune of sorts- it’s also the
most bland of all the lyrics on the record.
The subject matter is valid, no doubt (it’s about racism, it seems);
however, they seem to confuse racism and “Nazi views”- while they are linked,
one must understand that one is a relatively simplistic philosophy, the other
one an extraordinarily complex, intertwined, organized (sort of)
lifestyle. The former is a part of the
latter, but there exists a difference between the two, and though I understand
it’s not possible to explain that difference in the length of a punk song, it’s
still a mild irritant to me. “Drugs
Suck” is another case of a large overgeneralization, but I can understand that
in this case- the riffs in these two aforementioned songs are pretty gnarly and
are the two best songs on the EP.
“Surviving the Times” sounds like it came out of ‘We’re Not In This
Alone’, like it was on 33rpm instead of 45rpm.
The other three songs are alright, but nothing to be wowed over. For straight edge hardcore, I’ve got other
go-to bands, but it’s an alright offering; it’s a lot like a can of Chef
Boyardee- easily accessible, not bad, but not great, and homogenous, to a large
extent.
-Aunty Social
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