Burdocks

The increasingly diverse and somewhat hard to categorise East Coast music scene has grown in popularity and confusion over the last few years. The Burdocks have emerged out of this Nova Scotian fog Nova Scotia with a clear vision of their own specific niche. The Halifax foursome play straight ahead rock'n'roll with intriguingly idiosyncratic lyrics crafted and belted out by the unfaltering voice of ex-Freeloader Seth Smith. The sound is sort of Pavement-esque and described as "scrap rock," but this is by no means a bad thing. The Burdocks offer up a selection of well rounded, sometimes searing guitar rock nuggets that neatly fit into the short six-song CD. The self-produced sound is decidedly electric, with an unsophisticated rhythm plied by drummer Paul Keddy creating the pulse. The back to basics feel works well as the album seems to be a true representation of a live performance, a feat that seems to be deceptively hard to accomplish. Lips & Asshole is, above all, a good start and a step in the right direction from a band that seems to have a future ahead of them.