The Bad Luck Charms – Self-Titled

My first impression of Brooklyn, NY punkers The Bad Luck Charms was of a curious combination of Fashlight Brown and Rancid – a little bit of obnoxious pop-punk, delivered with a whole whack of streetwise attitude.  The singer knows how to sloppily slur his lines like Tim Armstrong, all the while straining his chords like an annoying 90’s adolescent punk band (ie. Gob).  Thus sums up the style of their 2008 self-titled full length – a respectable debut effort heavily influenced by the punk of decades past.

Generally, Bad Luck Charms pumps out a collection of competent semi-anthems touting enough old school punk to win over their core audience.  The sound itself remains steady and consistent, with most success coming from the guitarist’s clear admiration for classic, no frills rock ‘n roll (I’d be surprised if he didn’t listen to Ozzy or ACDC growing up).  With strings as lose and fuzzy as those in opener “Break My Heart,” and a chorus bolstered by repetitious gang vocals, fans of simple, tuneful punk rock should take kindly early on.

However, it’s also worth pointing out that the strength of their simplicity also threatens indistinguishably lumping these raspy New Yorkers in with the masses of other local bar performers.  In other words, in staying true to the heritage of their sound, few tracks ever stray far from the album’s early themes and melodies.  Five tracks in (“I Didn’t Mean To Kill You”) they still sing of “electric guitars,” the “Brooklyn bridge,” and a rather generic “graveyard of broken hearts.”  I suppose the band is fairly transparent about their limitations, particularly with the aptly titled, bass-heavy rocker “One Track Mind.”  By about the half way mark (somewhere around “No Vacancy”) the rinse-and-repeat of their rock’n, gang vocal, and chorus heavy approach becomes pretty apparent.  Even the skillfully played guitar solos concluding the bulk of tracks lose their initial edge during the later half.

The only outright failure on the record lies with the nauseating, whinny chorus taking up the better part of “Superstition.”  Otherwise, Bad Luck Charms land somewhere in middle of the road – demonstrating keen ability without pushing beyond a sound already sought after by many.  A solid, albeit somewhat forgettable listen by a group that could be better, although is still worth keeping an eye on – but only if they offer something new down the line.