This split basically had to happen. Environmental Youth Crunch loves the environment. Defiance, Ohio loves friendship and family. Both bands love punk rock and it's ideals. With this split 7", even if only for a brief time, they are able to crank out some great folk songs, as well as cover one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever.
Defiance, Ohio is my favorite band playing music today, and in my opinion they had the best record of 2006. Their music is fun and catchy, not taking itself too seriously but still providing a fair amount of social and political commentary to keep the anarcho-punks happy. The first song on the album, "Threats," is a raucous and energetic song about how punk rock can be a force for positive political change, and how all the intentions are there, but they are not necessarily used. The band, in full unison, starts yelling, "If we're gonna be a threat, do we want to be a threat? And if we're a threat, how do we want to be a threat?" After listening to the song, yes, you will want to be a threat. The rest of the song, which incorporates both male and female vocals throughout, is so full of energy and liveliness, and reminds you why this band is so good. The band's second song, "Collection Complaints," is similar to "Grandma Song" from their previous album. The song is about record collecting, and how "everyone is caught up in a competition to be off-key in the same ways." The song is your basic Defiance, Ohio song, with acoustic guitars and a folk punk twang.
On the other side of the record, Environmental Youth Crunch plays a more punk based form of folk music, and plays faster than Defiance, Ohio. These dudes love being outside and all that nature has to offer, sometimes to the point where it is really cute, other times to the point where you feel like they're just bashing it into your head too much. The first song on the split, "Cows...," does the former, as it brings up a valid point. The song discusses people that only find a good time when they are drinking, but don't realize everything else the world has to offer. The song is built around the band's signature punk riffs, and even though it doesn't make me want to stop drinking, it's still a good song. The next song is a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," and if you don't know this song or what it is about then I suggest you stop reading this review and beat yourself with old Vietnam propaganda films in the hopes that maybe some sense will enter your head. For those that have any kind of music knowledge and are still reading along, Environmental Youth Crunch doesn't really do anything different with the song, which is probably both a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that doing anything different with the song could have absolutely ruined it, and bad because you always like to see a bit of variation in cover songs. Of course there is a punk element to the song, as it is faster and less pissed off, which translates to a fun and punk cover of one of America's greatest protest songs.
If you don't own a record player, life sucks more than usual for you, since this has only been released as a 7", and Defiance, Ohio hasn't made the songs available online yet. But for those that do, and aren't still destroying their brain cells and smashing their heads in the search for the musical intelligence they are missing, pick this up. It's punk, it's fun, and Defiance, Ohio and Environmental Youth Crunch.
