Shitty and the Poop Boys - "Things Are Looking Up!"
I didn’t know what to expect when listening to a band called Shitty and the Poop Boys, though I didn’t expect it to be somehow enjoyable. "Things Are Looking Up!" was released on June 11, 2021 with a picture of an inappropriate trash dumping ground and a matching artist profile of feces. Suffice to say, this is not a band to take seriously.
The range of music on "Things Are Looking Up!" is quite good. It's Not Right (Not Associated With Devo) is easily one of the most enjoyable songs; a ferocious guitar loosely crawls along the soundscape amidst a frantic, sociopathic liturgy. The influences are clear on tracks further down the track-listing, which mostly fuses Chrome’s demented no-wave hippie culture with Daniel Johnson’s crass and amateur execution. The end result may have been resounding had the vocals not been awfully mixed in, and oddly sung. Perhaps this is why tracks like Jahiliyyah and The Mountain are more convincing; they lack a proper vocal track. Moreover, there are some solid ideas through, though the tracks are much too simple to brag about; like most great punk albums on the 70/80’s, these songs are one trick ponies, but not unique enough to stand out in compilation. The album mistakenly believes being obnoxious and loud is all it takes to make a good punk record in 2021, though they are greatly mistaken.
Despite the criticisms, the album is still enjoyable. It falls into a category of “it’s so bad it’s good.” The noise elements, and experimental nature are great, it’s only the compositions themselves that are far too unrefined. Here’s hoping the band can improve upon them in future.
Bad
Listen to it here:
https://shittyandthepoopboys.bandcamp.com/album/things-are-looking-up
Shitty and the Poop Boys - "Things Are Looking Up!"
