Lewd – “Lewd”
Lewd sounds like a cool name for a punk band.
I remember that Jim Morrison was once arrested for “lewd and lascivious behavior.”
Sounds like something more deserving of a medal or a prize.
“I didn’t know if I really liked this girl. But then, when I realized she was lewd and lascivious, I decided I’d ask her to marry me.”
I looked up the definition- Lewd means, “Crude and offensive in a sexual way.”
Hmm, that doesn’t sound too good. But punk has always been crude and offensive in a musical way. And that sounds much better.
And this bands sounds better than any words can explain.
Once upon a time, in fairyland, in the fairyland of New England punk, metal and hardcore. There existed two of the best heavy hardcore bands TNB wrote about. Sick Minds from Boston and Honest John from Providence. (I meant to say both were from Fairyland!)
Alas, neither band exists any more, being eaten by the magical dragon. But the singer of Sick Joke hooked up with the three musicians from Honest John to form this unholy alliance.
And there hasn’t been a better match since peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches, Charles Manson and his clan, police and brutality, Catholic priests and molestation or Thrash ‘N Bang.
Hmm, let’s disregard nearly all of my poorly thought out examples- maybe the last one’s okay, but the rest I can do without.
But you can’t do without this new bands new release.
Put on your stereo headphones and give a listen:
With some stupendous, slashing, soaring guitar, “Social Justice Warrior,” rips across our aural sky with a rhythm that alternates between a hard rockin’ beat and a hardcore stampede. This song is about folks who are too PC that exist on the scene. “Social justice warrior, always takes offense. Social justice warrior, no better than Mike Pense.” I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying this is a hard-hitting, concise, terrific song.
Leading off with some chuggin’ metal guitar chords and a pounding, steady, rockin’ beat, “Broken Record Boy (Reboot),” ignites with an ominous feeling and snarling vocals spitting out spiteful lyrics. “I hear your voice down the street, getting closer my ears start to bleed. Repeating shit you read online, same shit I heard about a thousand fucking times.” A bashing, combative chorus accents the acidic lyrics. There’s an awesome breakdown part that builds slowly, in intensity and tempo along with a great vocal ending with a part that recalls John Lydon. “Often times I can’t compete with all the bullshit you repeat.” No BS, and I’m not fucking with your mind!- this is one great tune.
“Crash N Burn,” inspired, most surely, by that famous music website Thrash N Bang, starts out with a kick ass beat and the singers venomous growl. Soon the beat kicks into another level, into a kind of Black Flag/Bad Brains vibe. “How do you learn if you’re so fucked up. You got to break them down just to build them up?” An actual guitar solo flares up in the proceeding that is great and just adds already to a song that is scorching hot. Second favorite song on the album.
Love the obscure, sound bite beginning this song, then- “I’m ready to go, and I’m ready to go…just a little bit closer, just a little bit.” That’s how the lyrics flow on “On The Edge,” with a groovy, groove and a guitar that sounds like it could be from a classic Guns’N’ Roses song. Maybe the vocal delivery is closer to H.R. or Iggy Pop but this is one tight, rockin’ tune. Can I describe it as H.R. fronting Guns’N’ Roses? Maybe that’s not entirely accurate, but what is, is this is my favorite cut on the album.
“Break The Mirror” lashes out like a whip with a metal lick attached inflicting joy instead of pain, that could’ve been off an early Sabbath album, but here it plays against an energetic, driving beat. Then the scene changes as it accelerates into a hardcore/thrash beat, before eventually, breaking into an awesome headbanging rhythm. This song goes through so many great changes that it is like putting four good songs into one.
Lewd uses tags like “punk,” “hardcore,” and “hard rock,” on their bandcamp and I definitely agree with the hard rock tag. As a lot of the music is not in the “faster than the speed of life” hardcore style.
But whether you call it hard rock, punk rock, hardcore of power violence- there is music that wants to be loud and true, uncompromising and potent, in your face and direct, in its’ emotions and in its’ intent.
Lewd embraces all of this fully, encompasses all of that. It’s as hard and heavy as metal, powerful and energetic as hardcore and challenging and confrontational as punk. And full of intensity, honesty and passion. And equal to any and all of the bands TNB writes about.
I read somehow, somewhere that someone wrote that- “Lewd sounds like a cool name for a punk band”. And I agree.
But what’s better is how good their music sounds.
(Slimedog)
