Random55 - 'Successful Attempts at Failure'   

-  Label: 'Sinister Muse Records'
-  Genre: 'Punk/New Wave' -  Release Date: '2006'

Whisperin' & Hollerin' Rating:    8 out of 10 stars
 
Random55 (http://www.sinistermuse.com) are no mall-punk poseurs, the likes of which dominate alternative radio today throughout the globe. These are lads that'll probably be championed by the same Hot Topic consumers, but Random55 have legit punk influences that are proudly displayed in their sound, from the blue-collar hard rock of Social Distortion to the pounding melodicism of Bad Religion to the dizzying velocity of Pennywise.

Random55 hail from Chicago, and Maximilian Labriola's gritty, angry vocals are as far from the adolescent whining of emo and the teen appeal cuteness of Blink-182 as you can get. Random55 are closer in spirit to the old school of punk rock, when selling out was a sin and not a goal. The opening cut "Dear Near" blows the amps with layers of Social D guitar fuzz as the drums match the hyperkinetic tempos of the Circle Jerks in their heyday. However, it's not mindless dissonance; Random55 reel listeners in with brass-knuckled hooks.
    
Labriola's breathless vocals on "I Don't Care" is a sledgehammer reminder of how urgent punk used to be before the suits took over. Its simple teenage wasteland message, "I feel so alone standing there all on my own," speaks honestly of bitter adolescent reality shot through a blitzkrieg of mega Bad Religion riffs.

Don't be expect any jockstrap jokes here. Random55 sing from the depths of the underground, fighting for their lives on the mean streets.

Author: Adam Harrington
Review: Whisperin' & Hollerin' U.K.