De La Hoya

Wipe the Slate Clean...Now Let's Begin (2002)

mikexdude

From 1997 to 2002, De La Hoya put out five releases of catchy, political punk music. Wipe the Slate Clean…Now Let's Begin were the last four songs the band gave to the world.

Leading the show, Aaron Scott (you may be familiar with his subsequent bands, Marathon and Attica! Attica!) shows off his great vocal range with unique tone and versatility, moving tastefully between pop-punk-worthy singing to emotive screams. Lyrical lines like: "We'll make love, because I have Product X which I bought with the cash I make working at my shitty job just to make cash to buy Product X's like that" and "I strive for more than leading sheep; scribbling wildly on their futures, how did I become the teacher?" are part of Scott's signature spectrum that reaches from bitter sarcasm to eloquence.

The rhythm section ain't too shabby, either. Utilizing unconventional song structures, time signatures and never sticking with a consistent tempo, the band creates a worthy equivalent to Scott's vocal abilities. Add in some subtle guitar fills and some nice parts that "take it down a notch" (Charles, Captain Turn Around) into the mix and you've got yourself a De La Hoya song.

You don't hear much about them anymore, which is too bad because they deserve a lot more notice then they got. The band eventually split into Marathon and Nakatomi Plaza, leaving us this little gem to enjoy.