Shorebirds
Itâs Gonna Get Ugly [12 inch] (2008)
dlangl4
This band came and went before anyone outside of the Org noticed them. Well, hopefully some people noticed.
But it's not too late for you.
Shorebirds were a short-lived pop-punk trio biologically related to the much-loved and not forgotten bands Latterman and Jawbreaker. Despite the potential inbreeding of Orgcore DNA between the parent bands, the birth of Shorebirds should be celebrated for years to come as a successful offspring with the issuance of their first and only full-length album. Unlike other supergroups whom struggle to stay abreast of the hype and reputation of its band members, Shorebirds live up their heritage with ease. In fact, this album is one of the better punk releases since the Latterman's 2006 effort, ..We Are Still Alive. Fans who are still depressed over Latterman's breakup should consider filling the insatiable void in their humdrum existence with this band's music.
The sound of It's Gonna Get Ugly contains little mutation or defect. Shorebirds deliver 12 kick-ass songs that followers of either parent band can appreciate. The genes are all here, ingredients for what should become one of the classic punk albums of the 2000s. The melodies are catchy, faster than Latterman, and scattered abundantly across all 26 minutes of the pop-punk extravaganza. But the emphasis here is less on musical structure and complexity, and more on aggressive simplicity, á la Osker's masterpiece Treatment 5.
At times, strangely enough, Matt Canino's voice reminds me of my younger days when I would skate up and down the boulevards of Shreveport, past the glistening lights of the riverboat casinos, listening to Epitaph skatepunk on a CD player in my torn-up backpack. I hated how you could never fit the Discman in the back pocket of your pants. Anyway, the metaphor is that the best songs on the album feature Canino singing in a manner that sounds like a nosegrind on a concrete handrail in the park, and alternatively like a balanced manual across his mother's hardwood kitchen floor. Actually, I didn't skate when I when I was little. But that's what this CD sounds like: speed. Speed dripping with PBR-soaked chords and coarse yelling that sounds oh so pleasant to my ears. How I wish I was 15 all over again. This album would be perfect to listen to while cruising down Copper Mountain on a snowboard, all alone, just me and the Shorebirds.
I rarely go snowboarding anymore. In fact, I'm poor and my parents stopped taking me on vacation with them when I graduated high school (unless I put up some cash). But my imagination is as vivid as ever, and when it's 104 degrees outside under the burning Texas sun, and I'm sweating even though I'm in my apartment because my windows don't have curtains and the AC can't keep up with the heat pouring into my living space, I can just lie back on my couch, drop the thermostat to 65, close my eyes, blast It's Gonna Get Ugly, and dream.
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It's Gonna Get Ugly
While this album is currently released only on vinyl from Rumbletowne Records, No Idea Records has announced that they will be releasing a CD version at some point in the future for purchase.