I love a little levity in punk rock. Bands who have a “message” or whatever tend to fall into some pattern of bullshit sloganeering. It’s totally fine to be on some serious shit, but it’s also fine to have fun with it. You can be political without being up your own ass. You can write a personal song without being schmaltzy. It’s the sarcastic, dry humor in the face of serious topics that made me enjoy Shitty Weekend.
Shit Week is a snotty, sarcastic record. It runs the gamut in song topics. There’s politics, job dissatisfaction, religion, and even a bit of punk rock navel gazing. It’s all about the delivery, and the band does it well. Yeah, it may come across a bit immature, but there is a lot of heart. Underneath it all is a very universal idea. To me that message is simple: you don’t have to kowtow to anyone else’s ideas or beliefs. You know what works best, and goddamnit, make it count. It’s as pure of a punk rock record as I’ve heard in a while. Yeah, it gets a bit goofy. Yeah, some songs aren’t “message” songs or whatever. And, yeah, I may be reading too much into it. But that’s kind of my gimmick.
While it is a punk rock record, it does vary a bit stylistically. Being made up of members of The Taxpayers and Transient, the music hits quite a few stylistic points. It tends to stay more hardcore inspired and quick paced. It never loses the melody, but it definitely plays on the loud and fast idea. There is some influence of more folk punk in some places, and a bit of a old rock n roll vibe as well. The flourishes from the horn section add a lot of flavor to it as well.
Overall, it’s a damn fine record. It’s a bit out of my wheelhouse, and certainly not an all the time record. But that doesn’t mean it’s not good. If nothing else, it makes me nostalgic about why I got into punk rock to begin with. However long ago that was. Check it out.
Team Reasonable 
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