Spoiled Rotten

While many punk rock bands these days tend to emulate what has been done billions of times before, that being, either copying the Ramones or going the suburban soft route, or both, Spoiled Rotten have the advantage. For one, the long-existing and slightly aged trio are more underground than sewers, and they come from Hamilton, Ontario, which sports its own brand of intense feelings of hopelessness, stronger than England and Canada's self-deprecating ways combined. And it is elements like these that make for a great band that have to make music in order to try and forget about their shitty day on the job. Guitarded is a masterpiece of punk, from its Oscar the Grouch pipe echo vocals, subterranean budget sound mix and especially the non-limiting and non-patronizing lyrics that made punk music great before self-consciousness and parental advisory warnings came into play. Songs like "She Gets Around” and "Glitter Titz" are classic and controversial to the modern proper way of thought, but also fun and truthful hard-hitting songs like "All My Friends Are Fuck-Ups" and "Donut Shop" perfectly address the bulk of the continent's (and certainly Hamilton's) way of life. While Spoiled Rotten might seem a tad misogynistic or raunchy at times, it is important to note that they serve the attitude of the spirit and wink to the history of the music, and not necessarily the band members themselves; and that is what it should always be about — the music.