In the Mouth of the Young, Album Review

Bullets and Octane
'In the Mouth of the Young'
RCA
Album Review

The back cover of my promo copy of 'In the mouth of the young' is emblazoned impressively with a warning from the FBI that I am liable to be punished under federal law should I copy or distribute this recording. Well, take the SWAT team off standby.

This is punk rock at its most basic; notions of originality or creativity never entered the playpen, and if they had, they'd have been bullied and sworn at by the brash and dirty bigger boys. The songs race along without a thought for lyrical coherence or meaning. 'I aint your saviour' is followed by 'Cancer California,' which claims simply to the contrary, 'I am your saviour and your destroyer,' without any sense of change in the narrative. However, I doubt anyone in the band even noticed the discrepancy, and I will admit that criticizing the band's throwaway attitude to lyrics is somewhat missing the point of 'Bullets and Octane.'

The playing is tight and deceptively disciplined, and occasionally vocalist Gene Louis manages to satisfy with a raw holler that recalls Moorhead. That band is an obvious reference point, and when B&O get it right, like on the 'Jeeeeeysus Christ' in the chorus of opener 'Going Blind,' the prickly energy compensates for the total lack of ideas. Unfortunately, moments like this don't crop up too often, and much of the album passes by like a Foo Fighters covers band playing Therapy? songs instead.

That anyone would actually be bothered to copy this album and risk incurring the FBI's wrath seems unlikely. The fact is, that given a free evening, a record collection, a guitar and a bottle of Jack Daniels, anybody who cared to could probably churn out an album of songs of a very similar quality.

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