Short Changed – Self Titled

Short Changed is an angry lot, pounding away on their instruments like toddlers who can’t get their way.  Their vocals are shrill and tattered, yelping and crying like caged animals, challenging the powers that be to a shouting match of injustices.  Following in the footsteps of their countrymen, The Exploited, the four-piece digs in their heels for an audio assault on organized institutions in their debut, self-titled full length, and follow-up to their initial pairing of EPs.

Anarchy and a dumpster-diving lifestyle serve as the topic for the album’s thirteen down and dirty tracks.  The band doesn’t think much of following convention, and would clearly rather break things (like your face) than use their words to resolve differences (as so eloquently described in “D.Y.F.L.”).  You can bet that “Lunchbox’s” vocals are all but completely drown out by the sheer velocity of the rattled offLeftover Crack-esque speed trip.  Songs like “Life Is Expensive” and “162” disregard any form of melodic framing in favour of complete spastic freak outs.  As far as loosely structured anachro-punk is concerned, Short Changed shreds with the best of them.  That being said, the album tends to blur songs together in part due to their unwavering commitment to making a complete musical mess.  It’s tough to see how the album might differ from future output, an in many ways limits the band to an overarching feel.

However, drummer “Crooked Mouth” leaves a memorable mark on a few standout tracks.  “Manifest Destiny” and “Reinventing Against Me!” in particular open with a rolling rhythm instantly distinguishable from the repetitious rabble of past songs.  If you listen carefully to other tracks you can hear all sorts of periodic breaks and minor alterations to time signatures that point to a very capable performance.  I’d go as far as to say “Crooked Mouth” carries the band.  It’s a shame their tempo downplays his talents so much, being relegated to but a few key openings.  A few more spotlight moments and the album might have stood out against their peers.

In the end Short Changed has created the definition of messy speed punk.  It’s raw and served in quick short doses that tend to all go down hard.  I could easily see these tracks inciting a riot full of bloody noses and raised fists across the sweaty moshing crowd, but I imagine the experience loses some of that spark when translated to disc.  At only seventeen minutes the album is over before it starts, and without significant personality (save for the energizing monologue punctuating “The Killer Of Fun” – more of this please) listeners aren’t given much incentive to return to any song in particular after finishing its runtime.