The dirty south is not often a reference said by your normal punk rockers. Than again, most punk bands are not made up of three African Americans. Yes
Whole Wheat Bread emerging from Jacksonville, Florida and has toured with acts such as Streetlight Manifesto and Catch 22 as they continue to grow in popularity. They bring a different spin on the pop punk genre with their sweet rhythms, humorous rhymes, and a generally catchy, interesting sound.
Whole Wheat Bread is…
Aaron Abraham – Vocals, Guitar
Nicholas Largen – Vocals, Bass, Guitar
Joseph Largen – Drums
The
Whole Wheat Bread sound is quite enjoyable; the dual vocals are great, whether main vocals are being traded or harmonization is occurring. The lyrics are quite a treat for this album as they are intended more for humor at times than seriousness. But do not take this band for a total joke as they tell some stories with their lyrics, plenty focusing on past troubles with police, drugs, and girls. If this sounds cliché to you, pick up the album and watch those past thoughts dissolve away.
Broke opens the album with a good amount of energy and immediately one is introduced to the amazing lyrical flow and delivery provided by Aaron and Nicholas. The main lyric
Cause I’m 19 years old and broke as **** describes himself perfectly at that age according to Aaron as does the rest of the song. As past troubles are revealed, the sound stays consistent throughout along with the tightness of the band.
Loud and Clear features a bit of a different sound. The same catchy chord progressions but a bit stronger instrumentally. A nice guitar riff separates the chorus from the second verse and the bass is heard dominantly in some areas adding some great depth to the music. Some chanting is heard after a chorus while the drums keep a fast pace rhythm throughout. A lot of new elements are heard in a song being under 1:30.
Old Man Samson is the perfect example of humor provided by this album. The lyrics are written about “That guy behind the dumpster with the dirty beard, loose teeth, and stinkin” found at all bars according to Nick. An almost ska like riff opens the song in mellow fashion. The tom beat provided by Joe is a great touch for the intro adding variety. Now the humor found in the lyrics is definitely a treat here.
Old man Samson
If you don’t put that bottle down
You will lose all control
Wrap your car around the pole
Back to the bar for another round
On the final chorus the vocal harmonization is presented very strongly adding some muscle to it instead of repeating the exact thing already heard. This song is a good example of what the band is about at times; a sweet sound and generally amusing.
The goody two shoes, the suck up, yeah we know her much like Whole Wheat Bread does as
Miss Perfection . This is the first punk song Aaron wrote at age 17, which is quite impressive. A nice drum fill opens the song and while the guitar is quite basic, the drums stay great throughout will some timely fills. At times the bass is very active switching up the flavor a bit. Everything in general stays rock solid throughout the song and while the lyrics are a bit sub-par to the rest of the album, this song ends up being a fantastic one for a first effort by the front man.
Scar your Lungs is not necessarily an anti-smoking song, but more a realization and finding out the order of importance in ones life. The overall mood in this song is much more serious and deep than plenty of the album as established from the intro. While simple, the guitar progressions and tiny riffs do a great job of shaping the intended atmosphere of this song. The vocals are sung with more solemn tone but it works great for the song. Variety presents itself once again as this song is a stand out on the record.
A simple run in with the cops can be a bad experience as told in
Police Story . Some ridiculously catchy chords open this song before the rest of the band comes in. Throughout the verse the dual vocal pattern is used and executed flawlessly, quite an accomplishment as it is mainly done over a little riff. While they are used profusely in punk, pick slides rarely have as much command as they do in this song. The two slides lead into a great chorus and more variety is shown as there is a drum and vocal only bridge; new things like this are always welcome in the middle of the album. The harmonization found there and at the end of the song shows exactly how well they are capable of performing it. Once again a very memorable song is created.
Holly is a song from a different prospective; the girl. The lyrics have some cool rhymes to them as the song opens up with vocals. Bass is heard throughout the song per usual and is a very nice part of this song. However, the fluent vocals are the standout in this track and seem to have the spotlight on them throughout. It is a bit interesting that they choose the different viewpoint on this song as it ends up being something slightly diverse from the standard girlfriend song. More past trouble are revealed in
No Future . The brotherhood going Aaron was in often lived in the now instead of thinking about the future as shown by the lyrics.
I don’t wanna be some ordinary grown up
It makes me throw up
Tell me what did you expect
So far I have no regrets
Once again humor is shown in the lyrics but at the same time coincidently a point is proved; as this shows how music elevated the band out of some past problems.
Feel like Sh*t opens with quite a catchy guitar lick and turns into the standard Whole Wheat Bread sound in the verse, the great flow of the lyrics, palm muted guitar patterns and some noticeable bass playing. The chorus is a bit humorous once again but the overall musicianship in this song seems to be a bit over some of the rest of the album. It seems they put a lot of work into the structure as it is the longest song on the album yet does not drag one bit.
Overrated has Nick on vocals I believe. He is more than capable of taking the lead vocal duty and it works great in this song. With the bassist on vocals I almost expected a bit more guitar work to be going on but that is not the case. This does not take away from enjoyment of the song as the bass actually has a nice section over the drums.
Missed the Bus is the last real song on the CD and they choose to end on a joking note. Opening with some f-bombs and telling the short story of how missing the bus when you just wake up can be a pain. The placement on this song is a slightly iffy as it would be a better track for the middle of the album since it is extremely short and funny.
Now it was the last “real track” but the album is not quite over. Being from the dirty south, rap is predominant and well,
Whole Wheat Bread lets their roots show. The
Untitled tracks at the end of the album turn into some freestyles and raps adding to a quite interesting finish to the record.
Respect has to be give for taking a different route by the band. How often can you turn on a pop punk CD, enjoy the disk itself, and than be greeted with some raps at the end of the record? Yes indeed,
Whole Wheat Bread is far from your standard pop punk band making
Minority Rules a very fascinating listen as long as you approach this album
not to be taken completely serious.
Pros…
- great dual vocal presentation
- vocal harmony is perfection
- humorous lyrics
- a catchy tight sound overall with a good mix
Cons..
- music is on the simple side
- may not appeal to plenty
- songs are extremely short, average around 2 minutes
This is an enjoyable listen as long as you are not expecting a 100% serious no B.S record. On a night out with the bros or after a bad day when you are looking for some humor, put in
Minority Rules and let the good times fly.
Final Rating: 3.5/5
