Artist: Self Defense Family
Album: The Corrections Officer In Me
Genre: Punk

There are rooms in the world that are so quiet, so resistant to reflecting sound that one may hallucinate sounds. There are bands out there so resistant to classification that one may simply begin drawing comparisons where there aren’t any. Self Defense Family is one such band. The Corrections Officer In Me is the umpteenth release in Self Defense Family’s prodigious history of doing whatever they feel song to song. For fans of the “for fans of” review format, Self Defense Family must be a frustrating ordeal. Meanwhile the band dances deftly between and outside the lines of genre. Does this always work to their benefit? That hinges largely on the listener. Trash, treasure, grower, banger; your mileage may vary.

“It’s Not Good For The Man To Be Alone” has the best vocal delivery of the bunch and was a wise choice to kick off the album. Patrick Kindlon has a rare ability to wear many hats as a vocalist. This is the Fugazi hat with sweat left on it from the Minor Threat days. The rest of the band follow suit as well. It’s drives steady more than it thrashes and pushes on without much variation. Lyrics are largely inaudible so we’re most operating on faith that it is indeed as pissed off as it sounds.

The second track is tough to pin down. The possibly tongue-in-cheek title, “Pop Song Written On The Automall” probably doesn’t help much. It’s a little bit garage and a bit art-punk. The haunting backing vocal that serves as a chorus carries the song through a loose structure but ultimately it’s a backbeat and a lot of droning. Some will love it, others will not.

The last track, “The Bomber Will Always Get Through,” is the most compelling overall. With no specific band influence in mind, this sort of sounds like the marriage of the bleaker end-of-the-90s alternative/pop mixed with the oft-mentioned Dischord influence of their music. Like the first track, just kind of goes on forever in a stream-of-consciousness fashion with a hypnotic backbeat, some restrained, echo-laden feedback, and the eerie (or drunken or strung out etc.) spoken words of a man who has apparently fallen off his bike. If nothing else, this is a good song for a good old fashioned zone-out on your bedroom floor.

Overall, it’s a toss-up. It’s muddy and the songs are long and monotonous and lacking the aforementioned Dischord influence that often anchors the band. On the other hand it has the appeal of sounding delightfully raw and live even without that anchor. Of course, this is Self Defense Family and they’re vibing on one particular theme for three songs. It was not a grand commitment of time on their end and perhaps it is incumbent upon curious and open-minded listeners to give it a spin or two.

Score: 6/10
Review written by: Chris Lawless

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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