The Numbskulls – The Last… Vol. 1 of 3

This came as a nice surprise to me. I hadn’t heard anything by these Worcester punks before, but just by looking at The Numbskulls‘s artwork I knew what to expect. Black and white photocopied paper, hand draw skull screaming with rays exploding from his eyes, it remind me of the DIY ethics that punk used to be based upon, and I somehow instantly knew what The Last… Vol 1 of 3 would be like. And after blasting through the short five song EP, my initial instinct was immediately confirmed.

Simply put, The Numbskulls are a four piece neo-tradionalist punk rock band. Taking a more in depth look into the band, The Numbskulls are a four piece neo-tradionalist punk rock band. And really, that says it all. They aren’t hiding anything. They just play their songs, jump right into them and jump right out. It’s never stuck in one mode, but features many different tempos throughout the short album. Its always raw and in your face, and will instantly please any fan of the underground punk scene. The driving point of the album that really makes the CD so entertaining is the vocals. Alex’s voice is ruff and it makes for a nice sounding growl. When James hops in with backup vocals, they bring forth an early Rancid vibe, particularly with songs such as Take It and No Way Out.

It’s a short CD, so there’s not much to say about it. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t drag on, it doesn’t get repetitive. It is just fun and a very entertaining release – and that makes it worthwhile. Volume 2 in the series comes out sometime later this year, and I can’t wait to hear it because I’m sure The Numbskulls will be able to give us yet another solid five songs there.