I got my first taste of Bad Mechanics last year with their Must be a Suburb single. Their introduction to the world (and me) was a catchy, new wave style lampooning of suburban life. On the Precious Moments in the USA LP, we get much more of the same. (That’s a good thing!) With their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks, the Chicago based duo continues to explore the absurdities of modern American life.
These are strange times we’re living in. Saying fuck the president has become mainstream. Doing the same in punk circles is pretty much just lazy and cliché. Bad Mechanics up the creative ante on Precious Moments in the USA. Don’t get me wrong, they’re ultimately saying fuck the president. They’re just doing it in a more clever and more subversive way. To me, it’s far more impressive than the mindless chants of the so called political punk and hardcore bands.
Bad Mechanics are a bit tough to hang a genre on, but a good starting reference point would be Devo. Maybe throw in a slightly more aggressive They Might Be Giants too. It’s punk and new wave with undeniably nerdy overtones. Electric guitars, synthesisers and drum machines are the backbone of Bad Mechanics’ sound. Lyrically it varies from ridiculous to incisive, sometimes within a few lines of the same song. The words are both sung and spoken. Most importantly, it’s almost always funny as hell.
“You Drink Lacroix” starts things off and sets the stage for what’s to come. It’s about a tough guy whose secret shame is his love of a certain lightly carbonated beverage. The themes introduced in this song are referenced later in other songs. In fact, many of the songs are self referential. It’s the type of cohesion that reminds us of what’s still wonderful about the LP format. “Social Obligations” is my favorite track on the record. It has a driving punk guitar riff and makes me laugh every time. It may even be my new personal theme song. Check it out. I bet many of you will feel the same way.
“Vote Jaffray” might be a clever commentary on the current state of American politics, or it might just be a song written to harass a friend. Either way, it’s once again very funny. “Must be the City” will sound familiar as it’s an updated, urbanized take on Bad Mechanics’ first single, “Must be a Suburb”. “USA Foods” is a commentary on how much we love our junk food in this country. On a record full of weird songs, “DiCaprio Hit a Baby” is probably the weirdest. “Women at the Arcade” and “Zinester Girl” are sort of strange, nerdy, boy-meets-girl (love?) songs.
Album closer “Morning in America” kind of wraps things up in a nice little bow. For those of you too young to remember, it’s a nod to Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign slogan. Make no mistake about it, it clearly takes aim at Donald Trump. The call to action is that we must pop that pimple of a man. At the end of the song, it features a Trump soundbite that is slightly slowed down. The result is that he sounds drunk, or maybe a little retarded. Eventually it slows down so much that it almost comes grinding to a halt.