Crumbler - Dirty Weeks

Crumbler - Dirty Weeks
Bottled Up Records

It's been so long since Klint sent me the mp3s of this that I kind of forgot it was a record from 2008. The "release show" a few weeks ago with Lemuria reminded me that I guess I should review this record. I guarantee that this record is much shorter than it would take me to even write a review of this ten song 7", so I'll give a quick description, then review the ten tracks, which last about 7 minutes. Basically, this is blazing fast, dirty hardcore punk. Larry's vocals are heavy, but snotty, and are complimented by Klint's filthy sounding bass. The guitars gallop through muted riffs and slightly off sounding solos that add to an almost grunge feel at times. The lyrics are warped, twisted, and hilarious, and I mean that in the best way, I mean it as a compliment (name that Cusack movie!).

The record starts off with the 18 second opener "Hooker Paradise," in which Larry promises to get a woman of the night off the street and into his home, so they can share her gift forever. "Manic Times" follows immediately, and stretches to a bloated 49 seconds, a little bit more mid tempo with more guitar solos and riffs. "Summer Classic" is a hardcore rager, with a feedback laden bridge and mattress has the most "traditional" sounding intro, before blasting through one line in about five seconds. What seems to be the most straightforward song is done before you know it. "Stalk With an Agenda" rounds out side one at over a minute (!) with a twisted refrain of "It's just me / I'm not crazy / What was I thinkin" line repeated multiple times over screeching and squealing guitars.

The second side of the record is just as short, and starts with my favorite track ofthe record, "Beaver Shots." Any song that ends with "Get shit on, get pissed on, get cummed on, get fucked" is ok in my book. "Headaches" can be found at their Myspace and is another one of the longest tracks, and probably the most straightforward of all of the songs, with almost standard intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-outro format. Weird for them, but a strong song. The next song clocks in at a blazing four seconds and only consists of one line: "The more I drink, the drunker I get." Fair enough. "Seniors '76" starts out fast as hell, before cutting into a 50 second half time dirge led by drums and distorted bass, bringing back that grunge feel. The closer to the record, "Cheap Lingerie" is over two minutes, with the return of the half time (or slower) drums with a dirge feel, and a guitar lead that feels like it shouldn't fit, but just does. This ending goes on for about a minute and a half, which feels epic by comparison to everything else on the record.

All in all, one of the best hardcore punk 7"s I've listened to in a while, and I hope that this band stays with it a little bit more, even sporadically, although I doubt that'll happen given their track record.