| I personally like it when independent artists come forward to us and ask if I can review their latest CD
or material. Even if they have no idea who we are, I understand that exposure is the hardest thing to get
around here and I am (usually) happy about spreading my thoughts about an artist’s work. Contents Under
Pressure just so happens to be one of these examples and with their new album "Just Another Bad Day," I
wanted to see just what these 4 guys from Chicago where hiding from the rest of the world.
I will say that these guys are a bunch of characters. Where I thought a bland rock band would be,
sprouted an eccentric punk band with many sides to their craft. Even at the beginning of the CD with
"Deep In Love..," it felt like they were making music with the intent of having fun (which is the best
way). The general feel I got from their music was that is is based around a uniform punk background which
combines with some finicky (attention-grabbing) guitars and some vocals that stay on or around par.
CUP really does bring back some of the flair from late 90's punk. The antics of Bodyjar, and experience of
Bad Religion seems to be replicated here and done well to boot. You just can't argue with songs titled
"All Girls Are Stupid Liars" and "I Need Me." Not to mention that you don't have to skip (that many)
tracks on the record and you can (pretty much) listen to is straight through and be happy doing so. These
guys don't have a sound that's original, but they do manage to sneak in appealing traits that make the
music their own. (guitars/antics which are awesome)
Does one have to sacrifice originality to have fun? Maybe not, but Contents Under Pressure has taken a
worn out joke and made it funny again, so to speak. "Just Another Bad Day" has some pretty solid punk in
it with resourceful guitars and a fun atmosphere, making it a winner in my book. Plus I really liked all
of the effects that poked its head in every once and a while.
~ Derek
March 06 2008 |
