Draw Blank - S/T 7" (2002)

Here's an oldie... well, an oldie where I come from. Not exactly, but they were close by anyway. Draw Blank were four-piece punk band from that were active in the early 2000's. If I'm not mistaken, this was their first record of two that they released. I never had the pleasure of seeing these guys live, but a local totally serious, eager, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, 1/3 hardline punk band (I guess it wouldn't hurt to mention them!) did a cover of their song "Hollow Years" in 2005 or so, and I've held onto these tunes ever since. I actually got my hands on a physical copy at a show last year, and could hardly contain my excitement, much to the owner's bewilderment.

I say that because this record, despite being close to my heart, is nothing extraordinary: just four guys doing punk their way (incidentally, that being the only way) one summer. But this record and band has a unique, carefree quality that many punk bands of today seem to forget about. These are non-pretentious, straight-forward jams with no gimmicks or egos attached; nothing plastic is apparent and nothing has been perverted with bogus attitudes. I don't claim to be the exhaustive source on hardcore/punk know-how and I'll never pretend to, but as an outside observer who's been going to shows nearly all of my life, I can say that whatever heinous ongoing transformation within the attitudes of some punk bands and their fans becomes manifest in the aesthetics and ideologies of some hardcore today. Punk becomes less and less fun when ego and image come before the music. But anyway, this isn't my soapbox and this blog isn't supposed to have a political bent.

There's very little information on these guys left, but superpunk extraordinaire Chris Hopkins over at Critical Hit Records wrote a lovely article wrought with more nostalgia than I could pack into this particular entry. Go there if you want to learn more. What follows is Draw Blank's full-length 7", recorded "in six hours" at Burnt Ramen. Enjoy the pro quality; there aren't even any groove splits in the vinyl. Now, whether the band is named after the S.O.A. song or not is a mystery to me...

Draw Blank - S/T 7" MediaFire