Posted on: October 12, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

While my last studio experience with S.B.C./The Freedom Fries was with 2000’s “The Dicktad EP”, this somewhat later release really shows a band that is much more polished. Starting off the disc with “Dictator”, SBC mixes their own brand of punk from a list of influences that are in themselves legendary : The Clash, Rancid, The Dead Kennedys. More garagey than The Charlestons, SBC still has the hooks that make each of their songs so catchy. While there is a fuzzy sound all around the disc (recording-wise) the only problems come from the ultra-high range guitar lines, especially the later ones in “Front St.” Even their standard cover, The Clash’s “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”, has improved greatly from what from on this disc, which itself has a cover that errs at times, whether it be a slightly off-time guitar line or a point where not everyone is on the same start. Please note that this cover is still miles above pretty much any cover that any local band has attempted (Save for possibly The Charleston’s “Pinhead”). Immediately following “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” is the driven “Forget With You Know”, which fights on for only too short of a time before ending. “What Has Punk Become?”, a track that tries to answer the title question, is an exercise on how versatile punk music is, with its disregard to commonly-held time signatures and beats. Moving immediately to the goof-off track “I Am Jock”, the gulf in differences between the two songs provide that much more fodder to the discussion began in “What has Punk Become?” Ending the disc with “You’re Stupid”, SBC really provides the perfect note to end on – a track that is as balls-forward as “Forget What You Know”, while (if played to a live audience), would cause many a member to start moshing.

Top Tracks : “You’re Stupid” and “Forget What You Know”

Rating : 7.3/10

S.B.C. – Self-titled / 13 Tracks / 2001 / http://www.thefreedomfries.150m.com/ [email protected]

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