Sheglank'd Shoulders

Every once in a while, a band comes around that refuse to don the "don’t give a shit” vibe because they really don’t give a shit. They play loud music, get wasted and are in a band to have fun, not score chicks or get rich tryin’. It’s called "putting the music first.” Or at least a strong second behind some 40-pounders like recent thrash metal saviours Municipal Waste have proven. Their gutter punk equivalent/brethren, Sheglank’d Shoulders would rather sport a longboard than a Flying V but still feel it, as these 14 paeans to the life of skateboarding and overindulgence of fermented hops clearly prove. Delivering a direct crossover hit from the liberty-spiked side of the gap, essences of D.R.I., early Suicidal Tendencies and Black Flag are about as subtle as a fart on a church pew and no less entertaining. So is the band’s mantra, given song titles including "Paradise Is An Empty Skatepark,” "Kings and a Curb” and "Stop Bitchin’ and Skate.” This reckless, carefree attitude encompasses the whole album, becoming infectious and even a touch intimidating…why can’t all bands be like that? Simple albeit just shy of dumb, energetic without hitting overzealous and foregoing frolic for outright fun, Endless Grind should be the soundtrack to every half-pipe session.