Courtesy Murder – “Population Control”
Courtesy Murder – “Population Control” A perfect way to hear their development from the early punk days to their more "mature" melodic punk period Hal Haney goes from shouter to singer, hooks and riffs replace simple walls of distorted guitars, the southern rock influence becomes stronger and is played with greater dexterity; all and all, you simply can't go wrong here. Courtesy Murder have long treaded the same waters as The Loose Screws and The Carry Ons-- put their Clash loyalties on ice and look to the sound of vintage southern rock melodic punk. Defying expectations on album number three, Courtesy Murder doesn’t come out of the starting gate with a riotous chant-along as they have on previous efforts, but instead offer the unguarded, mid-tempo "Population Control." It's a brave approach that succeeds with the help of front-man Hal Haney, who sings with a previously unheard sincerity that also finds its way to the bluesy "Die Young." It's an engaging homage to the hard living ways of rockers through the years, but soon enough the pain gives way to raw, rollicking numbers like "Captain America" and "Across The Tracks." These southern fried punks sing and yell with a voracity that makes up for the fact that their sonic rendition of “Hot for Teacher” isn’t listed on the albums play list, but did make it onto the CD.
4/5
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