I’ll start this review with an admission: I don’t know a thing about punk. So if this all sounds outlandish, forgive me. The only punk album I own is NOFX’s “Punk in Drublic,” and I’ve heard some of The Clash, but that’s about it. So don’t confuse my comments for a lambasting of the entire punk genre, because it’s entirely possible that I just haven’t heard enough. Or, I just don’t get it.
The subject of dissection today is “Porn On The Cobb,” The Perverts’ second album and first full-length recording. In celebration of its release, the three-piece band plays this Friday at John Henry’s, located at 77 W. Broadway.
For me, listening to “Porn On The Cobb” raises a question: Has punk ever evolved? Or has it always sounded like this? I say this because here we have an album that sounds like it could have been made a 100 times before — the fast tempo, the predictable chord changes, the mishmash instrumentation and all. Of course, most of the record’s 14 tracks clock in around the one to two minute range. This stuff is friendly radio-ready accessible punk rock.
But does all this necessarily make “Porn On The Cobb” a bad album? No — just an intentional one, very much within the punk canon, I’m assuming. But still not without merit.
Lead singer Rob Jacobs’ song lyrics are perhaps what give this album its strength. Jacobs knows how to write lyrics around a hook, and with such short songs, this method works best.
I also like the vocal backups and harmonization between the band members. Usually, the lyrical highlights match the musical ones. A few of the stand-outs include “Give It Up” and “Chameleon.”
Unfortunately, production values haven’t increased much from the last Perverts release. “Porn On The Cobb” doesn’t sound like a scratchy vinyl and need not sound like a polished Radiohead recording, but it definitely could have benefited from a mix that gave some precedence to bassist Nate Sampson. The only time he’s heard clearly is when he’s the only one playing. Otherwise, it’s all electric guitar and drums on the forefront of the sound.
Tickets for the John Henry’s show — which includes The Hellenbacks, The Go-Downs, The Fireballs of Freedom and The Courtesy Clerks — are $4. The Perverts will be the first band to hit the stage. Showtime begins at 10 p.m.