Review
Loud Boyz
Party In The USA

You know, I’ve never knowingly listened to Miley Cyrus, but I’m pretty sure this record is named tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t include a cover. Full disclosure, I looked up her “Party in the USA” song a couple hours after my first draft of this review. I wish I hadn’t, though it was certainly a learning experience about different lifestyles.

For some reason I tend to think hardcore bands should have three, maybe four people: powerful, yet restrained and to the point. Loud Boyz are a five-piece, and it’s not just to fill space on the stage. Every second of this EP rips and rages in aggressive aural entirety without feeling bloated. The tone is equally impressive, mixing serious and light-hearted lyrics without losing their aesthetic in between. 

This 4-song EP plays through in less than 10 minutes with some bass-driven hardcore. Title track “Party in the USA” would more accurately be called “Fucked Up in the USA.” The chords chug through with the rhythm section taking lead over easy to sing-along to lyrics that mostly reflect the song titles, also including “The Badge,” “What a Time To Be Alive,” and “Weekday Warrior.”

There are aggressive breakdowns, including near the one-minute mark of “The Badge” and sing-alongs, like the “I don’t give a fuck about Friday night” lyrics in “Weekday Warrior.” “What a Time to Be Alive” is a call to action, mixed amid the fury, frustration and fun. The songs are catchy but the overriding emotion is anger through and through. It’s countered with their jovial name and a tone that’s also reflected in the Party in the USA title. Good stuff. Not many bands can alternate between angry politics and songs about Tuesday night drinking without coming across as scattered.