X One Way X

X One Way X [12 inch] (2006)

Jordan Rogowski

It's good to keep a sense of humor in hardcore. We all love it for certain elements: the passion, the show experience, the fact that it's spurned by most of mainstream culture, what have you. But some people, and some bands take it too seriously. It's one thing to have passion, it's another entirely to claim you'd "die for the core," or as would most kids who say that sort of thing, "die for the mosh."

Well, X One Way X is here to remind everyone that hardcore can be hard, fast, and lighthearted all at the same time. With song titles like "x El Chupacabra x," "x Negative Feedback x," and "x I Won't Be Denied (The Myspace Song) x" you know pretty much what you're getting yourself into. The lyrics follow exact suit with the ridiculous song titles, as displayed to a tee in "x Al Roker Is a Fucking Sellout x:"

You sold out our dreams! You chose surgery and took the easy way out! / Left us with no more hope! We looked up to you, but you lied! / You broke our trust! Al Roker you fucking changed! / Can we believe the forecast when you lie about yourself? Changed your fucking image to increase your fucking wealth! / Al Roker, you're untrue! You lied right there on fucking NBC! / You fucking lied to me about obesity! Tried to be what you are not!

But the best part of these songs? They're fucking good. Real good. And unlike their lyrics, I do not mean that in jest. I mean these guys write some really solid hardcore songs, from the gang vocals to the hard-hitting riffs, to the short durations, it all pieces together to form one amazing LP. Forty songs in total, roughly twenty on each side, and only two over two minutes, most barely a minute and a half. This has two effects: first and foremost, none of the songs stick out over the others, unless there's some particular lyrics you really laughed at (being a Buffalo Bills fan, I took a definite liking to "x Fuck the Cowboys x"'s rousing chorus of "Dallas sucks!"). The second effect is that everything flows together in an incredible manner. Yes, it's 50 minutes of hardcore, which may seem like a lot, but it honestly flies by. Kev Sigman's vocals, despite the laugh content of the lyrics, always seem particularly passionate and inspired, his shouting rising above the hard-hitting music the rest of the band provides. The gang vocals are full and present, all just contributing to the solid package X One Way X provides.

If you're one of the people, like myself, that does love hardcore, but gets annoyed at how seriously people take some of its aspects, this my friends, is the release for you. And if you're somebody who just loves hardcore music, these guys do it better than most. Loud, aggressive, and full of humor, if there's something not to love with this record, I've yet to find it.