In a day and age where some high-resolution photography, Auto-Tuned vocals and swoosh hair cuts can get you signed from your MySpace page, I Hate My Friends totally took me by surprise.

I had been talking to a few of the members for a few months before they started recording their debut, A Case of the Mondays, and since South Carolina isn't known for its booming punk community, I wasn't sure what to expect.

A Case of the Mondays is a six-song blast of raw and unrelenting ardent punk rock. Musically, their sound falls somewhere in between F.Y.P. and early Gunmoll, while still presenting qualities they breathe life into a sound that they can call their own. Some of these traits include lead guitar work that span from blues-based riffs to angular noodling not far off from something you would hear on Red Medicine by Fugazi. What really works well for them is their use of dual vocalists. Jonathan has a very abrasive voice that strains for attention as soon as the band rips into the first song "Cam Taylor Moves to Gainesville," while as a backup vocalist Kerri is more subdued. That is, until the third song, "let'sgetoutofherebeforesomeuglybitchtriestohitonmeagain," where she takes over lead vocals and opens her self up to the same intensity as Jonathan exudes in the first two songs.

My only complaints with the record is that the mixing could have been more cohesive. Some tracks the guitars stand out where others the guitars are buried, while others the cymbals overpower the rest of the drum set. That being said, for a self-recorded/self-released debut it does stand out stronger than a lot of other self-released EPs I have checked out this year.

For the short time this band has been together (less than six months), this is a very promising start, and I'm looking forward to watching this band grow into a potentially great punk band that is helping to give new life to the coastal Carolina punk scene.

Digital versions of the record can be downloaded for free from their MySpace page and physical copies are being sold at their local shows.