time has taken the edge off of it, but something you'll notice about a lot of the rock bands that were labelled "punk" or "hardcore" at the time is that they actually based most of their respective sounds around boneheaded sabbath and motorhead riffs, via whatever intermediary, rather than fast, aggressive chord work. you might think this is trivial or not even notice it as a defining difference, but it gives this record more of a testosterone feel and less of an adrenaline feel, which is how i've tried to explain my interests in punk in the past: i like high energy adrenaline-fueled punk, but have little interest in the kind of dumb brutality that punk produces when you let the testosterone take over.

and, i'm sure a lot of the people that liked this at the time will talk about how awesome the riffs are, too, whether that's really true or not. i can get into riff-based rock music if you tone it done a little, but what these guys are doing is the exact opposite - they're tweaking what is essentially cock rock into something that is even more pelvic-focused. if you're going to get into this, you're going to feel it in your groin, not in your brain.

the drum machine interludes are unusual, but they're just gimmicky and pointless, overall.

it's not the worst record of this type that i've heard, but i'd actually classify this as some kind of crossover metalcore. i don't want to say it's too hardcore, and it's not bad enough to call it brocore, but it's certainly very much a cock rock record and consequently not something i'd want to listen to.

is this where la dispute got their sound? well, you can hear an influence, but if this were la dispute then it would be a half-assed demo. they've never released anything quite like this. and, i don't hear anything particularly original on this recording, either.

D-.

https://mewithoutyou.bandcamp.com/album/a-b-life