Carnage Bargain is trying not to give a fuck how it sounds, but it gives so many It’s hard to tell whether
The Paranoyds are annoyed? Bemused? We don’t honestly know. All we get is a lot of mellow dramatic lyrics which melt into each other and sure, it’s listenable. It’s just boring.
It’s not easy by any means to try and revive any genre, and the toughest to get right is grunge. A lot of bands simply sack it off and throw the word ‘scuzz’ on the front of their LP, or entirely rip off Nirvana. It’s a delicate balance to pull it off and it seems The Paranoyds have fallen at their first hurdle here.
Closing track ‘Ratboy’ sounds pretty good – like someone slightly inconvenienced The Beach Boys, but for a body of work that wants to shout about how pissed off they are with ‘the system!’ and ‘the man!’, none of the tracks really say anything. ‘Hungry Sam’ is supposed to be a big ol’ middle finger to corporate America but it’s safe to say Trump has bigger balloon babies to worry about. Big words need bigger, more well-formed writing and performances.
Carnage Bargain would be the perfect thirteenth birthday present for your middle-class niece. The one
who has no real problems other than not getting an invite to Freddie’s Uber Cool Summer party at his
Uncle’s house by the beach. Or for any teenager who’s ever uttered the words:
‘No we’re too cool for attention. We don’t need your validation. Mum. Mum. Mum, are you watching us
not caring?’
Haiku Review
Big ol’ finger to
Corporate America,
Trump has worse worries
Listen to The Paranoyds on Spotify and Apple Music.
