Sandusky, Ohio is home to Cedar Point Amusement Park, the rollercoaster capital of the world. About 45 minutes due east is the blue-collar city of Cleveland, whose hardcore scene has seen it's fair share of ups and downs that rival that of 'The Magnum' and 'Millennium Force.'
During the span of the 1990's Cleveland was home to one of the premier hardcore scenes, boasting bands such as Integrity, Ringworm, Ascension, The Spudmonsters, and Committed among countless others. But all that glory slowly began to fade as the new decade approached. Since the subsequent breakups, not to mention numerous reunions followed by even more breakups, Cleveland has for the most part remained off the hardcore radar. That is until four straightedge fellows that go by the name of Names for Graves came onto the scene last year. Since their inception, the band has toured the Midwest and Eastcoast extensively, proving that Cleveland hardcore is in fact alive and well. And to help prove their case, the band offers up their debut release, Worst Kid Ever.
Names for Graves set things into motion with the opening track 'A New Use for an Anchor.' Their music is blistering fast hardcore/punk drawing influence from the beginnings of hardcore. Listening to songs like 'The Movement (Searching for Ray Cappo)' and 'Badat,' it's as though one has travel back to 1981. The songs are short, sweet, and to the point. Nearly every song lasts less than two minutes, and the entire album, thirteen songs, clocks in under 20 minutes.
Underlying the album is a melodic hardcore vibe; one could lump Worst Kid Ever into the same category as earlier material from Descendents as well as Gorilla Biscuits. The band continues to blaze through song after song, very rarely giving the listener a breather. This assault is led by the furious pace set by drummer Nate Hough-Snee. However, there are occasional moments in which the band experiments with slightly different sounds. While 'Subtle like a Pseudonym' is still a fast-paced hardcore ditty, guitarist Sean Sullivan works a guitar-solo into the middle portion of the song, perhaps a little of that hometown influence shining through. 'Bookends / Beauty in the Breakdown' serves as somewhat of a reprise / intermission with one lyric being repeated over and over as the same open chord progression fades in, maintains itself for a minute or so and then slowly fades out.
John Millin's vocals are slightly nasal shouts and yells not unlike those found in Lights Out and Far From Breaking. For a guitarist turned vocalist - the band's original vocalist departed between the release of a demo and the recording of this album - Millin does a standup job. Many times a band will self-destruct when they go through lineup changes. On the lyrical front, the majority of the songs deal with the inner turmoil of success; not the hardships of what to do with success, but wanting to achieve it and how to deal with constant feelings of failure looming around every corner.
Where this release suffers is in the audio production. The mix is extremely rough and muddy, at times making the instruments mush together. I understand that punk/hardcore is supposed to be a gritty and genuine sounding, but this recording is little on the downside. The band could definitely benefit from a higher quality recording.
Worst Kid Ever is an extremely promising debut effort and Names for Graves will no doubt have a bright future so long as they can persevere through the ups and downs of a hardcore community known for destroying anything with promise. I have no doubt that they will continue to strive toward their goals, which they will reach, and in no time have even more material for us to enjoy. I look forward to hearing it.
