Somewhere around the turn of the millennium, Fat Wreck Chords decided it wanted to be the best punk label around. File Under Black, None More Black's first full length offering is a perfect example of how Fat has come to be just that. The band is fronted by longtime scenester, Jason Shevchuk, front man of the legendary melodic hardcore band Kid Dynamite. Shevchuk's voice will immediately grab the listener's attention whether that is good or bad. For those not familiar with his vocal style, it is raspy, yet melodic, kind of like a higher-pitched Greg Graffin (of Bad Religion). Surprisingly, his style goes quite well with the quirky, power pop-influenced rhythm section and chainsaw guitars.
Some may be turned off by the Fat Wreck logo on the back of the CD, but be advised: This isn't the same old signature fat sound with 1,000 MPH skater rock drumming with whiny, nasally vocals and annoying sophomoric songs about girls and cops that one has come to expect from the label. Rather, the songs are mid-tempo poetic, introspective jabs at life in general and the current state of the world.
The first song on the record, "Everyday Balloons" is a reflection piece recalling the golden years of Shevchuk's involvement in the hardcore scene. He starts off the song with, "It's more than fists and phrases. / It goes beyond life's little changes." The tune quickly turns cold, describing bad times and having to learn to forget about them. He finishes the song strongly offering his "stage fright therapy" to himself and perhaps others. A few more songs carry a similar theme, but there are other topics to keep busy minds occupied throughout the fourteen, fairly short songs.
Shevchuk's lyrics and song titles are consistently attention-grabbing and clever and truly embody everything that kids loved about Kid Dynamite. However, this isn't to say that all Kid Dynamite fans or punk fans in general, are guaranteed to love this. In fact, the hardcore kids may turn their noses up at this since it lacks the mandatory breakdowns and songs about The Edge. Also, the pop punkers may actually be intimidated by the release for the sole reasons of it not being generic Fat Wreck Chords trash, something they will have to learn to get used to. And, of course, it can be assumed that this type of music isn't quite cool enough for the punk kids. Perhaps, the crowd this release is most suitable for is the small faction of jaded, aging punks and hardcore kids like this tired boy, which will undoubtedly keep this an underrated, underappreciated, and overlooked punk rock gem.
