Don't Look in the Basement

Hailing from Elmira, New York (my grandfather’s hometown. Props!), snotty punk rock act Don’t Look in the Basement serve up 13 potable, scene-baiting tuneskis on new record A Bizarre Occurrence in a Small Town Pub. The band lays out its manifesto right away with opening number “The Latest Get Rich Quick Scheme.” Frontman Tony Shaddock lays out his band’s plans -- “The kids'll eat it up like it's Hanna-Barberra / on the cover of SPIN we'll be wearing mascara / But we won't mind cause we'll be / Gettin' paid and gettin' laid / and preachin bout the scene” -- in his distinct nasally screech. For the most part, A Bizarre Occurrence in a Small Town Pub is a rollicking punk rock record that doesn’t take itself too seriously, in the vein of Guttermouth, Vandals, or Offspring.

Of course, sometimes I wish Don’t Look in the Basement’s members put more thought into their music and lyrics. The record gets repetitive after a while, as the group’s handful of chords can only go so far. That’s forgivable to an extent; it’s just punk rock. But where I take real issue with the group is in its somewhat joking misogyny on “The Trouble with Girls.” With lyrics like “If it's got tits or tires / It's gonna give you trouble,” the song, like the rest of the album, is clearly a joke. But this time the joke perpetuates the same anti-women stance found in a lot of punk, hardcore, and emo. “The Trouble with Girls” doesn’t necessarily promote the degradation of women like, say, any Danzig project ever, but it’s still stereotyping women. And that’s not something I can really recommend to other people, let alone find humor in.

But hey, maybe I’m reading into the song too much. If you like your punk goofy yet rockin’, perhaps you should hit up Don’t Look in the Basement’s MySpace. Dudes are selling their record for $6 PPD. The style may be derivative, but the price isn't too bad.