If Green Day and Blink 182 had a child they would have Sum 41, but if Green Day smoked crack unremittingly and refused to put down the bottle then their illegitimate child would be Handsome Devil. The band hails from Orange County and the regional influence is heavy. The Devil”s debut, Love and Kisses from the Underground dishes out a west coast whine accompanied by simplistic guitar intros which give way to rotund routine rhythms. Song structure remain simple and will glide in and out of the ear with their familiar feel. The album is short on musical substance but long on brat punk humor. Danny Walker, Handsome vocalist, shines on the asininely amusing track “Samurai,” which he belts a chorus of “I”m a fuckin” samurai/from the darkside.”
- Paul Wong
- Jason Alexander as “”Bob Patterson.””<br><br>Courtesy of ABC
The album”s lack of originality is bearable through the humorous tracks but reeks of banality on the band”s attempts to create their own punk rock anthems. The song “Bring It On” with it”s chorus of “So you want a piece of me/Bring it on” is hokey when it should be hard. Get real, no one is afraid of pop punk.
All the songs on the record are of the everyday variety, every day melodies based on every day events. While they are real, in an indie rock kind of way, they aren”t necessarily interesting. Bands with comparable talent and similar music have paved the way for these recycled, regurgitated rockers and if they can”t take their derivative drudge to the top of the charts the Warped Tour always needs bands to fill the 10-11 slot.
Grade: C+