Thursday, June 9, 2011

Have Nots- Proud

The Have Nots started their journey as a band in Boston, 2007. Jon Cauztik, Matt Pruitt, Jameson Hollis, and Steve Patton have all done quite a bit with the group since then. They released their sophomore album, Proud, on May 3rd through Paper + Plastick and it's quite the album! Jon and Matt are both great vocalists and guitarists, Jameson backs them up on bass, and drums are Steve. It's ska-punk with a kick!

The album starts off catchy right off the bat with "Proud." It's a song about not selling out as you get older, along with great supporting vocals and a super-addictive melody. It hooks you in from the start with the fast paced, awesome sound.
The ska sound doesn't really come out much until the next song, "The Brink." Have-Nots are kind of halfska, because even though they have the upstrokes, they're missing the horns. For better or for worse, they're missing that element, and yet I still seem to enjoy it quite a bit.
The topic of "Freedom Of Recession" is pretty clear, and it's another great song!
"At the core, we're sticking to our loud, fast, danceable ska influenced punk rock, but we're also letting other influences shine through a little more. Reggae, country, hardcore, pop punk, rock n roll, all of that. It’s like if Cocksparrer, Peter Tosh, Teenage Bottlerocket, Social Distortion, Kid Dynamite, The Clash, Billy Bragg and Paul Simon had a ska baby.” - Steve Patton, the drummer, gives a little insight into what the band was going for in this album.. And I think it describes the sound better than I could!
The album is jam-packed with lots of "woah ohs", catchy guitar lines, and super fast drums. Love it.
It was recorded with Matt Drastic and mixed by Stephen Egerton, and you can definitely hear their influence on the sound of the album.
"Louisville Slugger" (which you can download for free online) is another one of the best songs on the album. It's a powerful song with sad lyrics, great melodies, and I absolutely love it. Probably my favorite.
Overall, great record with so many different sounds and ice cream. I'm lying about the ice cream, but you could add ice cream to it. Preferably not too close to the vinyl!

Check them out here or here or hereUs.

-Bear

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