Wretch Like Me
New Ways to Fall (Owned & Operated)
by Scott Hefflon
As the first release from superstar label Owned & Operated (ex-co-owner of SST and writer extraordinaire Joe Carducci, ex-C/Z employee Joe Young, and All/Descendents members Stephen, Bill, Karl, and Chad [sans Descendents natch, but also in Drag the River with Armchair Martians’ Jon Snodgrass]),Wretch Like Me is everything you’d expect from such luminaries, plus more. Produced by Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egarton at The Blasting Room, you know it’s got that Descendents/All signature sound it’s almost a shame to share. Clocking in at a non-tiresome 45 minutes, some of the 20 songs have a surprising, healthy hint of old SST material, both in writing and production (only touched up a bit by our knob-twiddling heroes). “Punk Rock is Big Business,” aside from having all the requisite spite and spittle of pissy punk pontification (think All’s “Piss Me Off” and “Critic”), suddenly launches into an “old school” shoutfest, chant Oi! Oi! Oi! and other sundry staples, similar only to classic Black Flag. You know, that big, clunky-kinda rhythm and barrel-chested talkalong… Ah, the memories! From there, “Homo” brings to light the humor that is the saving grace of punk. Too many statements can make punk music sound like a political pep rally with a driving beat. But “Homo” will just make you sing, dance, and embrace yer inner fag. With a chorus like “There’s a little homo in all of us,” sung in that almost-powermetal Misfit way, it’s impossible to resist. A helluva single. From there, many of the angry songs are so classic Rollins, it’s almost spooky (but the guitars are, um, well-executed and crisply produced). There’s a fine line between tough-guy roaring and cock rock shadow-dancing (meaning: Are you feeling punk?), but vocalist Abe Brennan blends his bravado with just enough GWAR to make it larger than life with a goofy grin.
With ex-member of C/Z’s My Name and Cruz’s Goodbye Harry, this Fort Collins, CO band combines humor and scathing attitude, the best of the old school and the best of the new school, naming the volatile mixture after a line from “Amazing Grace,” Wretch Like Me.
