The Ducky Boys

Dark Days (GMM)
by Scott Hefflon

Funny when a 45-minute punk album is considered “long.” Long as in “long-playing,” or “LP.” Everything else is a glorified “EP,” or “short piece of shit you probably paid full-price for.”

The Ducky Boys have “long” been right behind The Dropkick Murphys as the next punk band to make it outta Boston. While not as unique as the Dropkicks, and while GMM ain’t exactly stiff competition for Hellcat/Epitaph, The Ducky Boys do have a similar pro-unity, pro-blue-collar approach. Where the Dropkicks use Irish folk influences to compensate for the (now ex-) singer’s inability to hit many right notes and honest (read: simple) lyrics, The Ducky Boys use a lot of classic punk rawk, occasional AC/DCish riffs, and a vocalist that goes beyond gruff – he sounds like he’s squeezing out a painful shit as he sings his simple, rhyming lyrics. The vocal melodies have the annoying habit of doubling the guitar (meaning a whole lotta notes are sung on a single note, then shifted to another as the chord changes), but it sure makes it easy to croak along. Just keep a glass of water handy.

Plenty of “hey hey hey” chants and group shouts spice up the vocals, and various dramatic drumming and guitar parts end every four bars, thus holding your attention. While seemingly more rawk then punk by current standards (melodic punkpop has shifted the parameters by sheer, overwhelming volume), The Ducky Boys are definitely punk. Songs like “Do You Wrong,” “Fourteen,” and plenty of others will have you memorizing the lyrics so you can sing along the next time they come through town.
(PO Box 15234 Atlanta, GA 30333)