What can I really say about the Stabones' new album Liver Let Die? This is not exactly the most artistically creative album I've ever heard, they're certainly not trying to change the world or open anyone's eyes to any important issues, and they sure as hell don't give a shit about being P.C. And the album is awesome for it.
The Stabones are a straight-up pop-punk band, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Think Screeching Weasel meets an extremely drunk, old Lookout! band. There's also a tad of the RVA sound in there; however, that just might be my imagination, but you can tell that they're from the same area as bands like the Pink Razors.
Liver Let Die covers a wide variety of subjects lyrically, from drinking beer to getting ass to drinking liquor to drinking beer. There's also a couple songs about drinking beer. The lyrics themselves are simplistic in rhyme scheme and presentation, but it works fantastically. Every song is a sing-along anthem that gets catchier every time you hear it. There are a few other songs in there that switch up the formula; "Don't Wanna Drive This Bus," for instance, is a great, fast song about the singer's disdain with his day job. At first, I thought a few of the songs were a bit too simplistic. "Crusin' for Strange" as an example has a chorus that you know before the song even starts, but it reprieves itself by the end, with a great spoken outro that I find pretty amusing, and on subsequent listens learned to like the song as much as many of the others. "I Love Pussy" (which apparently is a cover) may sound misogynistic in theory, but these guys seem pretty tongue-in-cheek about it. There's even a Pouges cover as the last track, "Streams of Whiskey," and though I'm not a Pouges fan at all, I really enjoy this version of the song.
To be completely honest, as fun as this album is, it accomplishes one thing better than anything else: It makes me wanna drink. I mean it really does. When I hear "Jack to Beam" and he says "Roll outta bed and the first thing I do, I head to the fridge, I crack open a brew." It really makes me wanna at least drink a beer, if not just get completely shit-faced. Songs like that also have some pretty funny lines like "You know the best thing about drinkin' a lot? Well I'd tell you but I think I forgot." Maybe it doesn't seem funny written out, but it's just perfect within the song. Like said earlier, the majority of the album is about drinking, and conveniently enough, it's perfect music to listen to while partying or just drinking with a couple of your friends. If the Lawrence Arms are Midwestern Drunken Despair Rock, then this is Mid-Atlantic Drunken Fun-as-Shit Rock.
I don't see how someone could hate on this music. It's just too much fucking fun. Maybe if you're straight-edge it might not be so good, but that's about it. Personally, I can relate to a lot of this; for better or worse it describes a lot of my days and nights. Liver Let Die is a great collection of drinking anthems and general intoxicated stupidity. Iif you're looking for a great punk record to party, drink or just rock the fuck out to, check out the Stabones.
Personal favorite songs:
- Night Well Spent
- Jack to Beam
- Don't Wanna Drive This Bus
- Streams of Whiskey