Reviews

It’s been years since religion and hardcore met in the guise of krishna bands like 108 and Shelter and found a home on Equal Vision, but it still rings ironic that the most impassioned and reasoned call for the separation of church and punk comes via that same label.  ‘I never thought I’d see the day/ when church kids chose the hardcore way,” sings Good Clean Fun’s Mr. Issa, and damn if it isn’t true.  He then quotes Minor Threat as perceived by Christian HC kids, “The hymnal has the perfect song: You picked up a bible and now you’re gone.”
 
Good Clean Fun have, to date, shopped for a crew, defended the scene from the forces of evil, and put the ‘ha’ back in hardcore.  This new album, their first full length since reforming last year, makes clear that although GCF have accomplished much (much of it imagined) there is still much left to do.  And the best way to get things done - the best way to communicate a message to an overly dramatic audience? By making fun of them, of yourself, of everything: but still maintaining a healthy sense of outrage and need for change.
 
The album opens with the strongest track, ‘A Little Bit Emo, A Little Bit Hardcore.’  Mr. Issa name checks everyone from Ian MacKaye to Chris Carrabba and throws in references to bands from Gorilla Biscuits to Brand New.  It’s fun, fast, and rewards the well-versed listener.  Possibly, dare I say it, the best song about the love between a hardcore girl and an emo boy ever put to disc.
 
The rest of the album slides by: animal rights, the futility of the drug war (best line: ‘You know it’s bad when the Straightedge kids says Legalize!”), and an amazing sing along about what happens when your old girlfriend breaks her edge, entitled ‘Ex-Straightedge-Ex’.  Between Christian Rock and A Hard Place takes on all of what hardcore used to stand for, stands it on end, cracks a joke or two, and reminds us that it is all still important.  Bonus points go to guitarist Kelly Green’s lead vocals on ‘Punk Rock Love,’ and guest vocalist Mike McTernan from Damnation AD/When Tigers Fight on ‘Drug War.’
 
This is a great album, marred only by a weird song (with a terribly long intro) about goth kids, and another acoustic(!) track about myspace.  The myspace song, conveniently titled ‘The Myspace Song,’ is goofy and a bit of a novelty, but it is almost fully redeemed by the rhyming of Star Wars and hardcore.  GCF close the whole thing out with a secret track cover of Andrew W.K. with a voice over of Mr. Issa talking about sex, I mean SXE.  Get into it - and remember - “No message survives once it becomes buyable/ if you want to make a difference keep it DIY-able.”