Scaredycat: run.

Wife was stoked about this.  Why?  Sticker.  We need stickers for our scooter.  Unfortunately, this sticker is not being placed there, at least not yet.  Why?  Because I was stoked too, but cold water was tossed all over my naked body.  Nothing beats some good spazz, and yep, not only the promo sheet says it, it’s right on the CD slip too.  “File under spazzcore” it says, right there, yep.  That brings up tons of images.  You know the bands, right?  Frodus is considered the old pappy of the genre, nodding its head from the porch as the youngin’s do it right, and then you have Dillinger Escape Plan, of course, probably Creation is Crucifixion, Lightning Bolt, all those guys.  We linked the one because it’s doubtful you’ve ever heard of them, that’s why we’re the underground elite around here.  Anyway, that gives you an idea.  Spazzcore is fast, frenetic, changes tempo, and riff, frequently, often in blistering fashion to where you feel moderately intelligent for being able to fathom a single song.  That’s what you expect, and that’s what you must receive.    As part of the promo package Scaredycat sent our way, there’s a quote that reads “Are these guys a parody or are they serious?” That’s a proper question, honestly.  Why?

  

Because this isn’t spazzcore at all.  It’s barely spazz-punk, for a certain reason we’ll get to, but let’s save that one for a bit later.  First, on with the good, ye knights of the underground.  Scaredycat knows what they’re doing.  If you want raw, harsh, in-your-face punk with a bit of powerviolence, it’s right here.  The opening track, yeah, talk about boiling the blood, especially near the end.  The drums pound, they crash, the guitars snap and split right before your eyes, you can hear the bass strings about to snap like rubber bands, yeah run. has all of that going for it.  The vocal delivery seems to be equally shared between all three members, and at times they belt out some sick notes, even as a group.  Plus, bonus, the guitar and bass sound like they were recorded through tube amps; they have this antiquated sound, something like if you tossed Buddy Holly from the stage and took over his rig, slamming those frets until the neck broke.  This would essentially be how it sounds.  So, wait a second…ummm…isn’t there something wrong with this album?  Oh yes…..

 

What we have here is an excellent example of doing something different for the sake of different, without realizing how much of a detriment it is.  run. had all the potential to blast, but it wastes it, completely, for one specific reason.  Every single song on this “album” is under one minute.  Most of the tracks don’t even make the 40-second mark.  The idea was apparently to give you the most in the shortest amount of time.  Problem is you’re not given enough time to appreciate any of it.  Just when they catch a sick groove, and trust us, they do, it’s all done.  The opener, for example…  Jesus Christ why in the living Hell did you stop playing?!!!!!  Seriously, it’s enough to waken the dead punks of the world to unite for one last Anarchy rules fist punch to every face in this band.  Further, this nowhere qualifies for its self-stated “spazz” element, not at all.  There isn’t a touch of blistering tempo shifts or sickeningly complex riff tornados.  If you were to take a sample of a sampler and cut that down to samples, you’d have more material than this.  Why waste time when it’s clear you guys can actually play?  Sad thing is a band like Gore Beyond Necropsy was a joke intentionally.  run. sounds like a joke, because there is barely anything to enjoy, but it’s not intentional.  And it’s sad, because it could have killed, if Scaredycat had taken themselves seriously.

 

 

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Written by Stanley Stepanic

Scaredycat: run.
Self-Released
3 / 5