Public Access

Hindsight (2008)

Brian Shultz

Public Access was never a truly remarkable band, nor have they established any sort of ska-punk legacy like their influences or vastly more popular peers. However, for an essentially local act that produced mostly DIY releases, they certainly wrote and recorded some decent and fun tunes.

Their farewell release comes in the form of the 12-minute Hindsight EP, which gives ska-punk songs a hardcore flair, yet without any obvious similarities to a certain defunct band that arguably mastered such a thing. "O'Reilly" finds Chris Jordan barking like he's at an Agnostic Front show, but is then countered with a more melodic, goofy bandmate. All the while is a romping horn section and riffs that switch from heavy strokes to straightforward fast tempo-setting. "Tied to a Tree" also finds mild success in giving the listener both ska-punk and hardcore-oriented sections -- you'll definitely want to join in the aggressive shouts of "chain me down, shut me out!." "Raining Blood" replicates Slayer's familiar guitar riff into a horn line and integrates punishing, brass-addled breakdown guitars. Granted it sounds outright silly, but Public Access found a way to kinda make it work.

Maybe Public Access would have never found much success with a full-length, but Hindsight proved that in short bursts, you could bring the humor of one genre to another and flaunt both styles in capable means. And hey, it's free.

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Hindsight