What is it with bands changing drummers so often? I know it's not uncommon to change a member in a group but it seems like the drummers are slightly over-represented in these statistics. Research into this band from Olympia, Washington shows that for each one of their releases they have introduced a new drummer to the fold. For Poisonous Times the person taking care of the rhythm is Tobi Vail, formerly of Bikini Kill fame.
Whatever the reasons for this are doesn't really make a difference here as Vail's drumming is extremely solid and does a great job of moving the songs forward, as befits a musician with plenty of experience. A good recruitment move and hopefully it will kickstart some consistency in terms of employment.
Singer Craig Extine's voice is also very suitable for this kind of jarring, angular and minimalist rock since he has quite an unconventional trembling wail. Somehow you get the feeling that the music on Poisonous Times would not have worked as well with a singer taking the more conventional vocal approach.
First song "Volatile" starts off the proceedings nicely and throws in all good elements of The Old Haunts straight away. The jangly guitar sound, thick rumbling bass and the thought provoking lyrics are all there, although as an introduction to the album it would have probably benefited from being a tad shorter than its original four-and-a-half minutes. A slightly more compressed first song before giving way to the slower blues of "Poisonous Times" could have given it more of an edge to start with but this is only a minor complaint. The fact that The Old Haunts throw in slight surf-rock elements from time to time, as they demonstrate midway through "Sister City" shows that they don't like limitations. There are also a few slow burners here, fitted perfectly to break up the pace when needed.
Quite a few times has there been a mention that The Old Haunts are a punk band, or and indie-punk band (whatever that is supposed to mean) but I am inclined to disagree with that classification. They may be steeped in punk tradition, as a lot of their lyrics seem, and may draw certain influences from the early exponents of the genre but they should be seen as a garage rock band with some blues influences, and this is meant in a good way.
If there is a criticism here than it's derived from the opinion that despite being a solid band, The Old Haunts at the end of the day don't have songs as memorable as some of their contemporaries like Dead Moon or Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Nevertheless,
Poisonous Times is still definitely worth listening to more than once and will prove a decent addition to your collection.
