Loud Boyz - Tough Love, Hard Feelings (Cover Artwork)
Staff Pick

Loud Boyz

Tough Love, Hard Feelings (2015)

Cricket Cemetery Records


Loud Boyz have no remorse. If the title Tough Love, Hard Feelings doesn’t convince you, listen to the 22 minutes of the record and you’ll hear for yourself. Loud Boyz are fierce, heavy, charged and angry and while they’re not necessarily reinventing the wheel, they’ve taken a few tips from the creators and are certainly trying to innovate it. Tough Love, Hard Feelings is a grimy and fast punk record that draws queues from a variety of different bands to form their own key sound.

Loud Boyz energy is heavily expressed in the manner it should be: fast, loud and to the point. The band wastes no time creating memorable punk songs that are crafted carefully and don’t bleed into one another. “4 The Ladies” is a song that shows the band’s melodic side without ruining the heavier flow of the record. It’s a song that truly shows the band’s writing capabilities of any type of punk song. A lot of the record makes me think if the vocalist of Dead To Me were a little throatier and the band was faster, Loud Boyz would be the result.

The band’s chord structure has a melodic street punk feel to it. The band tampers around in the punk genre while continuing to maintain their sound throughout. “Casual Encounters” has a complex chord structure yet manages to stay within the parameters of what one would consider a Loud Boyz song.

Loud Boyz certainly manages to keep their sound continuous. The songs have an ultimate variety in influence, while still managing to capture the band’s sound. Tough Love, Hard Feelings is a refreshing piece of punk rock that will engage any fan of The Buzzcocks to Kid Dynamite. The band’s ability to keep their sound refined and intact is impressive as it is not always easy to break away from sounding like most punk bands. “Loud Boyz Anthem” closes the record with havoc wreaking punk rock and hardcore that may be the hardest hitting song on the record. Loud Boyz are able to craft better and better songs as the album steers towards completion.

While this is the band’s first release, it doesn’t seem as though Loud Boyz are stopping anytime soon. Known for their live performances, the band now has a concrete album they can finally show off their energy they transfer sonically for fans to soak in. Tough Love, Hard Feelings is a sonic testimony to Loud Boyz energy as well as their commitment to making great hardcore punk. The band’s solid and original sound might soon earn the band a stapled position in the punk scene. These guys are amazing.