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People who buy a Straight Outta Junior High record should not, in my opinion, be expecting record of the year. Come to think of it, probably not even record of the month. Fans of the previous two efforts know that the wacky, fun, and very high school reminiscent (well, if you're like me, when you first got into punk rock, seemingly a care-free type of music centred around absurd lyrics and good-time songs...okay okay, what I mean to say is "Blink-182") brand of music SOJH play will never be ground-breaking, hugely thought-provoking or inspirational.

Add to that the fact that their third effort is not that different (surprise, surprise) from Kiss Of Deaf and you may be asking "where does that leave this record?" or "what's the point then?" Additionally, you may also say "these lyrics are not funny. I would have found this shit funny when I was 12" or "these guys are like, soooooooooooo immature."

Well, fair enough. All I can write is my opinion, which on this occasion I can sum up as "good, but not great." I enjoyed the last album, and I must say I enjoy this one slightly more, the main upgrade being in the guitar department. The riffs are catchier this time round and more inventive on the ol' fret board, the best example being the extremely strong opener, "USF." When songs are this fun and catchy, even the most jaded of punkers should be able to enjoy them. Sure, you can bitch about the lack of hilarity in the lyrics if you want, but I'm guessing you would take lines like "He'd never rape like Kobe Bryant, or pay them off just to keep quiet" over something about slitting wrists over girls, etc. Or songs about crackheads or Target over today's emo crap. That being said, the brilliant "Down With Anarchy" makes a decent point about how truly fucked we would be if anarchy actually happened as so many kids scream for with their t-shirts and sew-on patches.

Unfortunately, this album suffers from a few drab songs. The middle section of the album is just not as good as the first 4 tracks and can leave the listener feeling disappointed after the strong start. Things pick up towards the end, however, after the quite long and boring (by comparison) "Don't You Dare Ever Break Up With Me."

Anyway, this review ends here. If you like this band, you will like this. If you don't like this band, Mongoloid Monarchy will not change that. If you have never heard this band, check the link. Just like I said: Good, not great.



People who liked this also liked:
This Is a Standoff - Be ExcitedEnemy Alliance / The Indecision Alarm - The New Wind and the Second WaveThe Legacy - SolitudeWhippersnapper - The Long WalkBigwig - ReclamationWith Honor - This is Our RevengeA Wilhelm Scream - Diver [7 inch]Choke - Needless to SayThe Legacy - We Gave It Everything [reissue]Institute - Distort Yourself



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    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 at 12:22 AM (EST)

    No it's not, these guys sound like every other crappy, carbon-copy pop-punk outfit out there.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 6:10 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    this is an sweet ass cd, that is super original, and super creative. These guys rock live make your way to see them.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 6:10 AM (EST)

    this is an sweet ass cd, that is super original, and super creative. These guys rock live make your way to see them.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 at 6:43 PM (EDT)

    These guys are awesome. Come on people have a sense of humor there just a bunch of guys goofin' around. I don't care what any of you have to say I

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 1:43 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This album is awesome. Hilarious, catchy, funny, and cool. They are funny in concert too. I'm 19 and used to hate punk music since it seemed to get more stupid and boring every year, but SOJH is definitely a breath of fresh air to a punk scene that has gone stale.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 3:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    the song "it's a brand new day" from this CD is getting a bunch of radio play in my hometown... great song about the drug Valtrex.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 3:41 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    You stated "brand of music SOJH play will never be ground-breaking, hugely thought-provoking or inspirational" but then go on to say something about the brilliant " down with anarchy" makes an interesting point etc.
    I like this CD especially the song "auto erotic" with the internet and a credit card who needs to waste time dating anymore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 11, 2005 at 12:12 PM (EDT)

    not as stupid as corpse of my motivation

    Posted by longshot on 2005-07-10 21:48:19

    i dunno. i like these guys. and i like the songs.
    it's fast, it's funny, it's catchy and no one screams.
    between this and skinny kids with shaggy hair whining about some shit like "my heart cries for your valentine," i'll take SOJH any day.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 8, 2005 at 5:45 PM (EDT)

    From SomethingAwful.com's Dr. David Thorpe -

    "...you’ve probably realized that nine out of ten dumb-ass white teenagers has a “hilarious” comedy-rock band that writes songs about masturbating and TV shows from the Eighties. You’ve also probably noticed that these bands have a success rate of about 0.05% in the humor department."

    Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-07-08 17:15:37

    i dont think there is any review that could make me actually want to listen to a band called what this band is called

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com

    Posted by SkolarX on 2005-07-08 15:28:22

    if nothing else that album title is funny. maybe not as great as "Love Songs for the Retarded" as far as a joke about the specially challenged goes but still pretty funny

    Posted by ChokingVictim on 2005-07-08 15:01:36

    Well, these guys are local to where I live, and I kinda like them. All of their releases have some great songs, but unfortunatley each release also has a couple poppy songs that drag the overall feel of the album down.

    "Down With Anarchy" is a good song though.

    Posted by CrookedSuperhero on 2005-07-08 13:47:46

    Good review, but i probably wouldn't dig this cd.

    Love extends to 30 though.

    Posted by JKyle on 2005-07-08 13:17:45

    These guys were the opening act when MxPx played a free show at my college. I think I was one of the only people in the audience who actually knew all the words to "Happy Fun Song."

    Posted by OKSoda on 2005-07-08 12:25:55

    In my opinion, to assume that the only people who like the idea of anarchy are kids shopping at hot topic is just plain ignorant.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 8, 2005 at 9:41 AM (EDT)

    "...anyway, this shit ain't half bad."

    But it's also not 1/4 good.

    Posted by AAHHHH on 2005-07-08 08:33:45

    i like the first 2 cds far more than this one.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 8, 2005 at 7:04 AM (EDT)

    The name sucks...the band sucks

    Lick my fuckin taint.

    ---Travis.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 8, 2005 at 5:53 AM (EDT)

    More like Straight Outta My Ass

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 8, 2005 at 5:10 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    "Stupidest band name ever."

    apparently you've never heard of 'My America is Watching Tigers Die'.

    anyway, this shit ain't half bad.

    Posted by corpseofmymotivation on 2005-07-08 02:54:19

    Stupidest band name ever.

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