P.O.L look like one of the slew of rock/punk bands being signed in the wake of the Green Day and Offspring successes in that record company manner we're now all accustomed to. You know, one of those bands who you're sure were probably wearing make-up in the late 80's and flannel a couple of years back.
Imagine the surprise then that this is really pretty good. In fact the first 5 tracks or so are *excellent*! "Gutter" stomps out the starting gate with two clenched fists; "Attitude Check" has a healthy dose of UK style punk nice to see in an American band; "Stupid" has the almost touching chorus of "I think I'm stupid/And I can't help it"; "Sux 2 B U" operates along the same metal-punk-pop lines as current UK faves The Wildhearts and Terrorvision, with a cool happy-sad chorus melody; and "She's Dead" is a masterstroke, combining a Talking Heads funky spoken word verse with a Green Day power-chord anthem of a chorus.
Then there's a hiccup. "Hemphead" adds weight to the argument that, unless you're Cypress Hill, songs about smoking dope are invariably crap. "S.T.D" would be dismissed by Beavis and Butthead as a bit childish. And their cover of "White Punks on Dope" sounds more like "White 80's Poodle Rockers on Dope".
"In Me I Trust" gets things back on form by getting the middle finger back into action and "I Hate Myself" sees another fine self- deprecating chorus on a happy-sad harmony. And the remainder of the album flips the bird and pops, punks and rocks into the distance in fine style.
Given the right exposure, these tunes will appeal to hundreds of thousands of mall-kids across the US so prepare to be irritated. To compare the so-called punk explosion with the grunge thing of a few years back - if Green Day and Offspring are Nirvana and Pearl Jam then P.O.L could well be in line to be the Stone Temple Pilots (ie. nothing original) but good enough to warrant their existence. And that's better than being Bush anyday.
