For the Working Class
Artist: Left Out
Label: Grrr Records
Time: 44:49 minutes / 15 Tracks
Brian Grey is at it again. He's been in more bands than the Bulls
have been in championships, and Left Out is his latest groovin' group
made up of old school punks.
The music and sometimes over-bearing vocals are by far the album's
weakest parts. Every song is made up of the basic three chord progression,
and only occasionally do they venture into melody. The best word to describe
the music is raw (Then again, is punk supposed to be anything else besides
raw?). There is one slow instrumental song, "Leave Me Alone," that tries
to capture emotion, but despite its rough edges it still seems out of place
on the album. Although overall For the Working Class does not sound
as "angry" as Grey's former bands, The Blamed and Six Feet Deep, it still
took me back a few years to when I first started skating, to the era of
local garage, anger management bands. A lot of the material is reminiscent
of the old-school Christian punk band One Bad Pig. This is simple
punk with a sense of humor, a dash of aggression, and a sprinkle of annoyance.
Left Out, however, earn credit for their lyrics which attack a number
of issues admirably, including smoking, cliques, trendy music, and monster
movies. For example, "You and Everyone Else (Smoking Self-destruction Song),"
is a great level-headed view of a vice that plagues many people. Grey's
opinion of smoking is articulated without being overly condemning:
