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The Explicits
album review
by erin thursby
scopes1925@msn.com

Album:
The Explicits

Artist:
The Explicits

Label:
Explicit Records

Release Date:
April 8, 2008


      The Explicits’ first album has now become my album of choice for kicking virtual ass. I took the album on its first test run while playing City of Villains. It would make a great soundtrack for any MMORPG from Warcraft to EVE online. Something about their angry gutter punk music just seems to fit. When I read the press release (something I try not to do before I listen to the album), I found that lead singer Renee Phoenix defined her favorite track (the metal-thrashesque album ender ‘Hollywood’) in video game terms. Turns out she’s a WOW fan. I’ve seen the band live, and found the album to be slightly less edgy, but it in a positive way. Any fan of the local Jacksonville band will recognize songs like ‘Indestructible,’ which they’ve been playing at least since last year.
      The band members are all under 21 and the lead goes to UNF, where she’ll be earning an English degree in between rocking out in various Florida venues.
      It’s old school punk, a little screamo with raspy, tuff vocals. The lead, who sounds like a guy, is actually the petite Renee Phoenix, who I’m convinced gargles gravel between sets. Metal tinges all the songs, particularly the guitar work, but it’s all about punk with a slight hook. While metal guitar solos tend to go on and on and on, the dominant punk side of the band curbs these, keeping it short and sweet, with brief metal goodness slapped between layers of punk.
      While I enjoyed most of the tracks, one particular song irked me with lines such as “I’m so over it/ I’m sick of your sh*t,” set to the most pop-like hooky melody of the album. Luckily the songs come back to their home ground, and ‘Over It’ was the only miss on the album. The rest of it hits hard. ‘Suffocate’ opens the album with the sort of hooky angst and raw edge that makes punk so much damn fun.
      Since they’ve hit the magic MySpace number, with over 30,000 friends, they’ve taken the next step by putting out this album. In true punk tradition, they’ve started their own label, Explicit Records, and cut their first self-titled record. I can only hope that their next album will be as good.
      Check them out on MySpace, so you can say you knew them before they made it big.



Article Published in the May 2008 Issue of EU Jacksonville

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