Portland, Oregon’s Shitty Weekend have followed up their 2014 full-length Shit Week with their new eight-track release. At one point it was called Shitgibbon, but I guess they finally settled on Son Of AC/DC. While Shit Week spanned more sub-genres from folk punk to hardcore, Son Of AC/DC the band is clearly focused much more on hardcore using their signature hectic instrumentation and high-pitched screaming.
While none of the songs even make it to the minute-and-a-half mark, the band manages to cram a solid amount of material into Son Of AC/DC. For the majority of the tune “Don’t Drag Me Down” the band sticks to their frenzied instrumentation and angsty vocals, but it ends with this brief stop suddenly and then out of no where you hear a clean-sounding guitar being plucked. What actually made me laugh was the introduction to the song “Should Have Done Better.” I won't spoil it, but let’s just say that it starts out with a fantastic line from the beloved 1997 film Good Burger. The song then just becomes thirty seconds of utter mayhem and barely understandable lyrics that only Shitty Weekend can produce -- totally random and totally something Shitty Weekend would do.
Though the band is sort of known for writing funny and ridiculous lyrics at times, they end Son Of AC/DC by commenting on the current cultural and political climate in the US most notably with the lines, “I don't want to talk about politics/No I don’t want to have to choose a side/No, I am just looking to be right” in the song "Shit Angel."
With Son Of AC/DC Shitty Weekend continued to write wacky and interesting hardcore tunes. The band’s sense of humor and irony in the lyrics really stand out in this release and they undoubtedly have found their sound and style and have come into their own.