Voice of Reason

New Beginnings (Triple Crown)
by Tim Den

The first song pretty much summed it up: “everybody grows up but I’m still the fucking same.” Voice Of Reason is not interested in getting past the Gorilla Biscuits/Fastbreak copycat schtick. Maybe that’s a good thing to them. And maybe dropping the words “emo” into a hardcore band’s biography and screaming about girls while you’re dressed like a Calvin Kelin model (retaining “toughness” as well as “good looks”) helps them get their name to audiences outside of the hardcore genre. Somehow I doubt it. The bio says that New Beginnings is the kind of record “that only 18 and 19 year olds could make.” At least they’ve got that right. If you’re into adolescence-fueled youth crew stuff, this is for you.
(331 West 57th St., PMB 472 New York, NY 10019)