My favourite punksters Disgraceland from Devon, a wonderful county in western England, are back with a new EP, 'Warthog', and I couldn't be happier. As always they are poignant and on point with what's going on in this fucked up world we live in. Even better, they do it with tongue firmly lodged in cheek making the pretty horrid subject matter about the shitstorm around us much easier to digest.
The EP opens with 'One Shit Decision From Disaster', a short sharp shock attack on the senses and it deals with how we constantly make decisions throughout life and how, in the space of milliseconds, one decision can be the ascent or downfall for the rest of our lives. Next up is the excellent 'Cancel Culture Club' with it's punchy and in-yer-face approach. The riffs are sharp while the rhythm section keeps on pummeling the listeners. The lyrics are so spot-on and true regarding the whole awful cancel culture going on in the world. No matter how many amends you make for a bad past and all the change you've made for the better, if the self-righteous nuts in the new cancel culture finds out about your past, they will hang you out to dry, no matter what. And it goes to show they are just as bad as the people they aim to destroy. This is followed by my favourite song on the EP, 'Gun Nuts And God Botherers'. This brilliant song oozes of ska and groove and it couldn't be better. It's aimed at the US where many sections worship at the feet of old ancient scriptures that holds no clout in the modern world. At the same time it brings out the sheep mentality in full force which is so prevalent these days. A brilliant song on all levels...'give me guns and Jesus!'
'21st Century Affliction' retains the groove but it's more intense yet very danceable. Disgraceland again focus on sheep mentality who believes unconditionally in the printed word, especially if it's on the Internet. Hence, fear, hatred and paranoia rules supreme. The opening line of closer 'Bees' says it all: ”I've got bees buzzing in my head”. There's so much noise and so many people everywhere it is impossible to get away from it all. Musically the band moves back and forth, in an ebb and flow kind of way, between intense build up only to erupt in the chorus.
It is always an exciting occasion for me when Disgraceland arrive with a new recording. They keep it short, to the point and they tell it like it is. As mentioned throughout this review the band bring up dire subjects but to me their songs relieve a lot of tension. Perhaps it's the combination of the lyrics and the music that does it, I don't know. All I know is Disgraceland are pretty phenomenal and 'Warthog' definitely show that. Excellent, bloody excellent you hear!
-Swedebeast
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