The Holy Mess – Self Titled

Maybe I’m biased, having spent the majority of my youth going to shows in the Chicagoland area, but I’ve always felt that the punk rock that originated from the Midwest was always a little bit better than what was being offered up by the “legendary” punk acts of the East and West Coasts. Yeah yeah, go ahead and disagree with me, but the truth is that the Hüsker Dü discography mops the floor with anything the Ramones ever did, and Articles of Faith were waaaay more important to punk rock than the Dead Kennedys could have ever hoped to be. Believe it.

And now that you’re up to speed on the benefits of paying attention to what happened/ is happening in the middle states, let’s go ahead and look at a band that hails from The City of Brotherly Love. I know I know. Right now you’re asking yourself, “Why the hell did this guy go off on a tangent about the inferiority of punk rock that was birthed outside of the breadbasket of the United States, when all along he was going to talk about a band from Philadelphia?” Well, smart ass, here’s your answer.

Having recently signed to Chicago-based label Red Scare Industries, The Holy Mess has unmistakably expressed their predilection for association with musicians of a particular musical fabric. If you knowRed Scare bands, you’ll get this. If you don’t, the brusque nature of The Holy Mess’ delivery should be the tipoff that this band doesn’t really sound like they’re from the Northeast. Instead, they’ve successfully managed to capture the essence of what punk rock was in Chicago in the 80’s. Think “Body Bag” by The Effigies. No joke. At this moment, you should be skipping your happy self out to your beater to make that trip to the local record store. Again, I’m dead serious. This album is 11 songs of sweaty, passionate punk rock that will leave you begging for more. And I mean on your knees, snot-faced begging! The good news, however, is that the band is currently in the studio recording a full-length of brand new songs for a 2012 release, so you shouldn’t be on your knees for very long.