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South Bay Bessie

It's About Time (2004)
Acutest

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Contributed by: Brian
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Published on August 24th 2004

Named after the mythological monster that may or may not lurk in the waters of Lake Erie off Northern Ohio, South Bay Bessie's sophomore full-length and the followup to their self-titled LP, It's About Time, is formulaic, bratty-sounding pop-punk, that may or may not eventually lurk in your CD player.

Whereas most pop-punk bands who rely on an incredibly annoying brattiness dwell in an adolescent whine, this brattiness is exposed in a much more mature voice with deeper vocals from more grown-up individuals. It's a weird alternative that still doesn't fly well though, especially in "I Hate Math." Yeah, I don't think there's a need to explain that one further. Although, to be fair, that's the most direct sign of blatant immaturity to be found on the disc.

The press release cites Green Day as an influence among others, but I'd say this particular one is quite agreeable. There's some definite shades of mainstream pop-punk (read: the good side of) in the vein of Green Day shining through here, albeit a bit more sugary, and the dual vocals work in favor of attention-grabbing, but the well for variation and non-filler runs dry as the album progresses. The first half is half-decent and gets your foot tapping, but the second passes through without a sign of aural interest. I literally didn't even notice it ended until about twenty minutes after the last song.

One other completely inane complaint of mine includes the band's odd fascination with parentheses. Sure, only four of the thirteen track names implement them, but really - "(Your) Kids (Are Gonna) Love It!?" That's not even really...funny...unless it's an inside joke. Yeah. It must be.

You probably know by now whether or not you'll dig this, but here's some clinchers that'll affirm your decision.

MP3s
(The North American) Bible Salesman
(I Never Really Liked) Purple Anyways

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Anonymous (August 30, 2004)

dumb dumb dumb

Anonymous (August 28, 2004)

SBB - glad to see that these dudes are still playing and putting out records. I took over Ian's drum slot in another band when he left to do this, but have met him several times. Nice fucking guy.

The only thing I remember about seeing these guys live is that their lead singer likes the new misfits better than the old misfits. That is a felony in some parts of the country,

-Ken

Anonymous (August 27, 2004)

it actually is an inside joke, buttlog.

MrLuke (August 26, 2004)

They kind of sound like some of the old Lookout records bands. (Only they suck much worse.)

-MrLuke

Anonymous (August 25, 2004)

I saw them open for The Methadones once, they don't look like a band that would play Pop-Punk...they were alright though, could have been better. The introduction the singer gave to the band made me think something way better actually.

CallingLondon (August 25, 2004)

why have there been like no positevely reviewed new band/albums posted here in like 2 weeks? WHERE ARE THE GOOD ALBUMS???

Anonymous (August 25, 2004)

A few of my old bands have played with these guys......and I've booked them numerous times. I've know Ian, the drummer for years, and his parents live a few blocks away from me. They sound a lot like Screeching Weasel to me.....though you can never be as good as Screeching Weasel.....Well, yeah you can.

~Petro

Anonymous (August 25, 2004)

what band are/were you in?

Anonymous (August 24, 2004)

i love seeing this band live.but this cd rarely makes its way into my stereo. still a good band though.

Anonymous (August 24, 2004)

You're pretty much right, a few good songs, alot of filler. My old band actually played with these guys. Can't belive they made it onto this site for a review.