El Pathos

Love and Hate

Love and Hate is a proper rock & roll record. It sounds like needle drugs, insomnia, and motels that rent by the hour. Singer David Duet’s lyrics read like prison-cell poetry and his voice answers the question of what Dwarves’ singer Blag Dahlia would sound like aping Gene Vincent. The memorable choruses and arresting guitar solos that detonate Love and Hate imply an affinity for classic rock, but in terms of energy and tone, this is punk rock blues. Dicks’ bassist Buxf Parrot and Offenders/Poison 13 drummer Pat Doyle make up Austin’s most venerable punk rhythm section, leading heavy charges on “Straight Into the Sun” and helping make Love and Hate as solid musically as it is lyrically. Artistically, personal songs like “No Blood of Mine” and “Suffering Kind” make the rah-rah-rah shit like “Rockets Red Glare” sound trivial by comparison, but it’s all good enough to keep you listening to excellent closer “Yesterday Mourning” in all it’s glorious grit.

***.5

This article appears in July 13 • 2012.

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