Back in last summer, The Owen Guns released the nastiest, snottiest, funniest punk rock EP of last year. I wrote this in the conclusion: “Violating Community Standards” is the glorious sound of blokes who aren’t taking this too seriously. I hope it offends someone, because they are exactly the type of person who deserves to be offended by it.”
Now they are back and working on the principle that if everyone is offended by something, then you might as well offend everyone, let me say right now that “2 ‘Electric Boogaloo” is nastier, snottier and funnier than the last one.
This one is 12 minutes – the last one was 11, so they’ve gone prog on us (there are seven songs here mind you, Genesis have probably got intros longer. Anyway, they’ve gone from Sydney to explain to us that they can’t head on the opener “SICK”, and they’ve got a beef with wankers on the internet who like to give their opinions (I was scared for a bit but to be fair Sean, the drummer, sent this to me so I think I am ok) on the glorious put down of pomposity that is “Expert In A Minor Threat Shirt” (I don’t own one, I am currently wearing a Dan Baird and Homemade Sin one for clarity).
There’s a touch of diversity here too. “Out Of Time” is the heaviest and fastest thing here. If it’s not quite “Scum” then its more Napalm Death than Green Day, that’s for sure, but if you want to understand this band, may we please direct you to “Just Being With You”. It very pleasantly starts like it’s the Buzzcocks, before offering this: “It feels so good when you eat my arse, nothing girl, will tear us apart.” I didn’t consent for them to use my Tinder bio and I shall be contacting their lawyers with immediacy.
From there it moves to more existential questions: “Is This Punk?” Well yes, it is. Then it moves to the philosophical “Jim Sicoli’s Dead (And I’m Fucking Glad)” before ending with “Everything’s Fucked”. A comment on the capitalist dream failing everyone – or maybe not. Whatever, it makes a racket and gets rage out.
According to their bio their previous “Violating Community Standards” EP was praised by their wives and girlfriends. They are women of good taste. Look you’ll either love this or hate it and I suspect The Owen Guns couldn’t care less either way. You don’t make this if you do.
Rating 9/10
