Born to Lose – Sweet Misery (CD)

Born To Lose come to the table with their own brand of bouncy, quick, and poppy punk during “Not Alone”. This Austin, TX band comes out with tracks that skillfully blend bass, guitars, and a slightly-gritty set of vocals to make a timeless brand of punk rock. “Not Alone” reminds me a lot of early H2O, in the sense that both bands simply don’t give a shit about image or posturing, instead making some of the most catchy punk rock that this world has ever heard.

Tracks go by quickly and continue to contribute to the same general style that the band had created for “Not Alone”. The nature of the disc changes slightly when the band uncorks a sizzling guitar line for “Sweet Misery”. The fact that there is a chorus present during this track that all can sing along to does not hurt the track in the least. Songs on “Sweet Misery” are all short, with only a few breaking the three-minute line; if there is a track that the band feel as if they are striking out on (which does not happen often, or at all on “Sweet Misery”), they just need to bury the track and move along. “The Fallen” changes the general style of Born to Lose to something that more closely identifies with acts like Strike Anywhere and early Rise Against. As quickly as they updated that style, they drop it and move into a more classic brand of pop punk with “Along the Way”.

In that track, Born to Lose sound like a less metal-influenced Pissants (NY). With all of these punk chestnuts, Born to Lose is paradoxically succeeding where their name would forecast something much less auspicious. Born To Lose crank out hit after hit on this album, and the replay value of this album is incredible. It is actually catchy enough that one could conceivably play the disc as an entire entity back to back and not be tired of the band at the least. The fact that Born to Lose does a musical around the world with all the different styles of punk music just furthers my appreciation for them, as they show an ability that surpasses the skills of all the rest of their musical compatriots. Here’s to hoping that Born To Lose cuts more in the way of albums here in the near future and has their star even go up higher in the food chain of punk acts.

Top Tracks: Red Leather Romance, The Fallen

Rating: 7.2/10

Born to Lose – Sweet Misery / 2006 Sailor’s Grave / 12 Tracks / http://www.borntoloserocks.com / http://www.sailorsgraverecords.com / Reviewed 07 July 2006

[JMcQ]