Free MP3 download & GTRNR sticker
Ohio is in the Midwest, but it’s also pulled to the east coast (Cleveland) and to Appalachia (Cincinnati). Growing up in the Columbus area therefore means you’re living in a bit of a schizophrenic place. Ugly Stick is reckless, yearning and pounding but it’s not mindless.
A lot of the late ‘80s indie/alt rock was connected to garage and punk music. But it had its raunch and its power pop too. Ugly Stick came from all that, instead of adding the extra element of wanting to be heavy metal, these guys held firmly to rock-a-billy music. That in turn leads the ear to a country sound. And so we find ourselves back at the “cow-punk” label. Whether you like labeling bands or not, we have a country sound in this album. Sometimes it is bending out of a guitar solo intentionally and other times we hear a country twist in the vocals that are seemingly not intentional at all. It’s just them being themselves, which is what makes this band great. There is a sort of double catharsis to this music. So much of this is tales from their lives, things connected to what was happening to them. The step of writing the initial song must’ve served as one form of catharsis. I believe you can even hear that here. So many bands lose that feel when they go to record. But in this case, we get almost a live feeling. I hear a group of friends going through a second catharsis as they slam into fleshing the track out and putting it down.
Over and over we hear the group enthusiasm is what propels this music. Every instrument is jumping in to do its part not waiting to be led by one member or one element. With the vocals we get a range of emotions. No, there is not a soft ballad, but who needs that when you can have various extremes and when you can have genuine laughter? The combined energy and the group dynamic come out in that communal laughter, just like it does in the playing. At times you have tempos that pull at each other. Just like how you have individual members’ styles pulling at each other. One might lean toward X while one leans toward Chuck Berry and suddenly a moment later the Kinks are toying with Husker Du. This makes for tension. This makes for complexity. This makes excellent rock and roll.
-Andrew Hunter
Free MP3 download & GTRNR sticker
Ohio is in the Midwest, but it’s also pulled to the east coast (Cleveland) and to Appalachia (Cincinnati). Growing up in the Columbus area therefore means you’re living in a bit of a schizophrenic place. Ugly Stick is reckless, yearning and pounding but it’s not mindless.
A lot of the late ‘80s indie/alt rock was connected to garage and punk music. But it had its raunch and its power pop too. Ugly Stick came from all that, instead of adding the extra element of wanting to be heavy metal, these guys held firmly to rock-a-billy music. That in turn leads the ear to a country sound. And so we find ourselves back at the “cow-punk” label. Whether you like labeling bands or not, we have a country sound in this album. Sometimes it is bending out of a guitar solo intentionally and other times we hear a country twist in the vocals that are seemingly not intentional at all. It’s just them being themselves, which is what makes this band great. There is a sort of double catharsis to this music. So much of this is tales from their lives, things connected to what was happening to them. The step of writing the initial song must’ve served as one form of catharsis. I believe you can even hear that here. So many bands lose that feel when they go to record. But in this case, we get almost a live feeling. I hear a group of friends going through a second catharsis as they slam into fleshing the track out and putting it down.
Over and over we hear the group enthusiasm is what propels this music. Every instrument is jumping in to do its part not waiting to be led by one member or one element. With the vocals we get a range of emotions. No, there is not a soft ballad, but who needs that when you can have various extremes and when you can have genuine laughter? The combined energy and the group dynamic come out in that communal laughter, just like it does in the playing. At times you have tempos that pull at each other. Just like how you have individual members’ styles pulling at each other. One might lean toward X while one leans toward Chuck Berry and suddenly a moment later the Kinks are toying with Husker Du. This makes for tension. This makes for complexity. This makes excellent rock and roll.
-Andrew Hunter
