The disbanding of Boston punk groups Stray Bullets and Chicago Typewriter led to the formation of the band Have Nots. Sometimes, stronger bands are formed from the ashes of two defunct ones and Have Nots are looking to prove this with their debut album, Serf City USA. They bring a nice balance of ska and aggressive punk rock to the table that's sure to win over those who are fans of most of the albums in Hellcat Records collection.
The style of ska-punk that Have Nots play can be easily compared to The Suicide Machines and Operation Ivy. They don't use a horn section, their melodies rely heavily on fast upstrokes and driving bass lines and their overall sound is a lot more aggressive and heavier than most bands on the third-wave ska train. This is noticed instantly on the fierce opener "There's Gonna be a Riot" where they come out firing on all cylinders. The following track "Frozen Heart" is more ska-oriented and wouldn't be out of place on the final Suicide Machines record with it's constant upstrokes, anthemic punk chorus, and overall vicious sound. Have Nots show their more serious side on "SBC" with it's socially conscious lyrics that reflect activism and being involved instead of always talking about a problem. Both vocalists execute the trade-off style vocals nicely too, only complaint is that they don't exactly have the best voices around. Serf City USA also suffers from being very repetitive too as Have Nots are not trying to fix anything that isn't broken but it wouldn't hurt to step outside the box a little bit.
Serf City USA is a very enjoyable album for those who miss The Suicide Machines, were turned off by Rancid's last couple of albums, or for anyone that's a fan of ska-punk with a heavier edge. The band has a really nice sound here and it's clear that their comfortable playing it, a little too comfortable. As I mentioned earlier, the album's repetitiveness is something that really drags it down but there's still a good chunk of quality tracks on here that will earn a few spots on future punk mixtapes I'll be making ("Frozen Heart" and the title track in particular). The album isn't a chore to listen to either tracking it at less than a half hour with twelve tracks.
So, the only thing left to decide here is that is this album worth your time and money? If you're looking for the punk album of the year, then no. If you're looking for a fun punk album with intelligent lyrics and a sound that isn't completely sugar coated, then definitely yes. I think Have Nots have the potential to catch the eye of Tim Armstrong or Fat Mike to be the newest band of their respected labels. Be on the lookout for Have Nots in the future.
