RuinerRuiner from Baltimore, MD play a unique brand of hardcore, I would liken it to bands like Verse and Horrorshow. Straight up hardcore with subtle use of melody, coupled with well placed mid tempo breakdowns. One of the highlights of this release and the band as well is their ability to place their breakdowns. When they enter the break you expect a full scale beatdown but they hit you off a more traditional punk hardcore break with slight nods to the heavier stuff. My only gripe musically is at about halfway through the release, they change gears a little too much and the songs lose their continuity but other than that everything is right on the money. Good shit. Lyrically, I would also compare them to Horrorshow, very urgent and sincere. You got songs about girls and reletionship shit but its real deal stuff, rather than being aimed at the 15 year old girls and pussy dudes. Songs like, "Getting Over the Overs," and "Adhering to Superstition," are nothing but the truth. Then you have a song like "Lockjaw," which is about not needing modern religion to live your life. They hit you off with a little of everything lyrically. The production is good, the guitars could have used a little more fullness, the bass sounds great and the drums sound good too. The layout fits the release, the cover is a nice drawing of a guy that looks like he just lost his mind in black and white. The lyrics are arranged nicely for easy reading. Just these songs alone show great promise and I eagerly await their new material. Be on the lookout for the re-release of this 7" with 2 new songs out on 1917 Records in November.
Rating: 4/5
Songs worthy of replay: Getting Over the Overs, Out Go The Candles
Thesis: If you have all the horrorshow releases you’ll love this. Anyone who likes hardcore should be feeling this one.