Disrespect – Wartorn EP

Disrespect – Wartorn EP / 2005 Profane Existence / 4 Tracks / http://www.disrespect.us / http://www.profaneexistence.com / Reviewed 17 October 2005

The fury in which Wartorn’s title track starts is just absurd; from the guitar line that cuts through the first few seconds to the back and forth vocals on the track, Disrespect knows exactly how to capture their listeners and never let go. The track is short – two and a half minutes, and the shuffling beat present during the middle of the track surges against the fuzz of the guitar like a pit cresting against the stage at a proper punk show. The arrangements are diverse and are not polished too many times by a computer or overzealous producer, and crackle with an energy that is simply not to be found in 99% of punk currently out today. For “Officer Friendly”, there seems to be a little California smoothness thrown into the track; this is not anything resembling pop-punk but rather a harmony that makes its way through the growled out sets of vocals.

The disregard for the time signatures by the vocals is yet another impressive facet to the band; this is the equivalent of musical revolution that reminds one of the time that the phrase “chords are fascist” emanated from a corner of the venue at an Evens show. Disrespect is a perfect example of a band that is straddling the line between being an act that completely looks back for their influences and dropping all pretense and coming up with completely new sounds at every corner. By straddling this line, Disrespect creates a brand of punk that does not need to be contextualized by knowing all of the Crass and Captain Sensible albums; one can just throw the record on the platter and just go. “Officer Friendly” moves beyond being a simple song to thrash around to to something that is much more catchy and will find itself bouncing through listeners’ brains with reckless abandon.

Of course, this is not much that finds itself squabbling around with different politics or individuals in a “scene” but points out one specific enemy and takes all the vitriol that they can muster for nearly three minutes. This is the type of music that punk needs to stand behind, instead of the self-destructive tripe that has been produced and promoted by major labels and those currently in power. Grab this EP before it sells out; there are only a 1000 copies and considering it came out in August, chances are likely that it will be gone soon.

Top Track: Wartorn

Rating: 7.0/10

[JMcQ]