Review Summary: A hardcore album that showcases a band's successful attempt at improving their sound
Originating from the Tooth & Nail christian punk scene,
Ninety Pound Wuss were a band that were as fascinating as they were fun to listen to. Their self-titled debut was essentially your typical christian rock record, complete with cliched themes of faith and so forth. Not to say that’s necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but the overall execution of that record was very poor and, honestly, a little boring. Their 1997 follow up,
Where Meager Die of Self Interest, on the other hand, is an exceptional record that shows growth and maturity in the band.
One major aspect of the record the band improved upon since their last release is the dynamics. The music is much more interesting and playful here, catching the listener’s attention from the very start. The use of layered guitar screeches is not uncommon for this record, and the bass has loud voice to be heard throughout the disc’s runtime. The best aspect about the instrumentation is that it adds extra viciousness to an already over-the-top angry album such as this. Now that I think about it, this is probably the angriest record this band has ever done.
That’s manley due to the lyricism and, oh man, does this record get fu
cking
pissed at times. Tracks such as “Sick and You’re Wrong” deal with subjects such as religious hypocrisy, which is a little surprising to hear from a band that was once associated to the squeaky clean world of religious music. “Backwards Thinking”, a track that also deals with discrimination caused by one’s religious views, ends with the line
“So concerned with contamination, you’ve forgotten how to love”, only warning the listener for the harsh tones to come.
The only issue with this record, keep in mind, is Jeff Suffering’s vocals. As many tracks show, it sounds as if he had a sore throat when recording the album. His voice sounds incredibly stressed and strain, ruining the overall sound a bit. Although, he does have his moments, admittedly. The best example of him-hell, this entire band putting their all in a track would be the closer, “Blank Stare”.
This track tricks you, opening up with as a short-and-fast punk number that quickly ends, only to be replaced by a slow churning, murky bass line that is iced with wandering guitarlines. Suffering creeps into the track with a teeth-gnashing chant of
”Don’t mess around, don’t fool around” that quickly becomes intimidating. The track then explodes into a fiery, headache inducing mess, which contains intense, heavy screaming that sounds like it came from someone burning alive. After some light jamming, the track quickly collapse over itself, turning into a barrage of noise. After one final attack from the band, the track finally ends with yet another wall of feedback, perfectly giving the final kiss off to all of those who listened to the album.
“So how does this hold up?”, you might say. My answer to that is a firm and bold
excellent. This record shows the band mature with their music, experimenting with different techniques and tones in order to improve their music and make it incredibly enjoyable to listen to. This record marks clear middle ground between the hardcore sound of their debut and the fuzzy, post-hardcore tone of their third and final album,
Short Hand Operation.
Where Meager Die of Self Interest, however, is the band’s biggest triumph that showcases their energy and ideas in a way that makes it very hard to describe with words. If you can find a copy, definitely give it a try.
