Shit Otta Luck‘Family Tradition’ is the debut release from Milwaukee band, Shit Outta Luck. Formed in 2006, SOL feature ex-members of Milwaukee bands Wings Of Scarlet and Die Alone. I’m going to start this review by commenting on the excellent artwork/layout of this release. The entire booklet and inlay insert give off the impression that the disc has worn through the artwork like old records stored flat (stacked on top of each other) instead of upright. Aside from that crafty feature, the artwork follows a theme of drinking which reverberates throughout the entire release, from the artwork through each song on this seven track EP.
In actuality, this EP resembles a full-length, at least in the realm of hardcore/punk. Most of the tracks clock in at a tedious 4-6 minutes apiece with the entire CD running just under half an hour total. Moving on though, the strength of this release, is in it’s lyrical honesty. The words are hardly poetic or even well-written, they are however, a truthful rant on the problems of everyday people, whether it be drinking, women or the law. Come to think of it, the lyrics of these songs probably have more of a relation to country and rap songs than hardcore or metal.
As for the music…you’re looking at quite a bastard mix of different sub genres. I hear everything from sludge metal. hardcore, glam and Southern rock. The vocals are similar to Killing Time and the guitars alternate between Southern rock sludge like Kyuss and glam rock ala The New York Dolls. Other bands that come to mind while listening to this are; Blood For Blood, Clutch and Scissorfight. Though this EP is far from terrible…it’s not exactly that good either. Many of the songs are similar and drag far too long. The vocals are good for this sludge-core hybrid, but this band has some kinks to work out. For example, a good song (“She’ll Put You Down”) is completely ruined with some atrocious ‘back-up’ vocals reading out the chorus lyrics as the chorus is being sung. Also, it’s a horrible idea to open an EP with a long “shout-out” intro that should be saved for an outro, if included at all. That is after all, what a ‘thank you’ list in the booklet is for, unless of course, their buddies are too drunk to read.
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: “Indiana Wisconsin” & “Drunk Ta’ Hell”
Synopsis: Interesting band that should improve with future releases. If you think tough-guy, sludge-core is something you might be into…check ‘em out.