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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Artist of the Day: Brutal Youth

Brutal Youth seem to have a knack for implementing just the right amount of wackiness in their music without going overboard.  The punk four-piece from Ontario, Canada undoubtedly nod at catchy 90s hardcore acts like Kid Dynamite and emphasize brevity in their catchy, energetic tunes that shamelessly make use of sometimes juvenile, self-depreciative lyrics and “whoa-ohs.”  Their 2010 full length, Spill Your Guts, is an outrageous 15-minute ride in which vocalist Patty O’Latern spares no time in delivering his often hilarious messages over frantic drumming and a brazen, power chord-ridden approach.  Take “Artful,” for example, Patty’s 45-second declaration of love that takes a turn for the ridiculous when he reveals the song’s subject: his dog.  These moments of wit and satire are laced throughout Brutal Youth’s music and only add to the sheer enjoyment provided by the upbeat punk instrumentation, creating what one might expect to hear from a musically-inclined baby produced by The Ergs and Shook Ones. 

With that being said, Brutal Youth’s new split with their Canadian brethren in Tightrope features a much more serious lyrical approach that manages not to detract from the band’s “fun” factor whatsoever.  Few bands can come up with lines such as, “Righteous indignation amounts to thinly veiled contempt,” and even fewer can make it fit within the context of a one-minute punk song, but Brutal Youth accomplish both in a naturally catchy fashion on "Heart and Soul."  Fleshed out vocabulary and improved songwriting on the split make it clear that Brutal Youth have no intentions of slowing down, and with a recent post by the band revealing the completion of 16 new songs, one can only hope the progression will continue on this next release.  

Check out Brutal Youth's various Internet headquarters HERE
Listen to the Tightrope/Brutal Youth Split HERE

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