DEFECTIVE MALES -- SPEAK YOUR MIND

Politically charged, DIY, handmade Punk. Or is it "Punx"? Ah, whatever the kids are calling it these days. With a photocopied, cut-n-paste foldout sleeve with lyrics appearing in the classic two-row left-right order, this album was recorded in two separate band members' apartments. The first batch of 40 or so were handed out for free to anyone who wanted one. Where have all the bands like this gone? With dual, mostly female vocals and a noise that brings to mind a matured Peace Punk sound, it's like when the members of CRASS grew up and moved on to more mature sounding projects. But Defective Males aren't your run-of-the-mill Peace Punk band. Many sources around refer to this band by saying that they sound like something that Crass Records forgot to put on their infamous A-Sides compilations, and, yeah, that's true, but this band is more than that simple "Git-R-Done" description. With melodic lyrics, damn near poetic in delivery, it's definitely inspirational, with one hand as a fist in the air and the other behind the back holding a potato-gun. Reminds me of later material by Conflict, with hooky guitar leads. The Cincinnati-based band features members past and present of local bands like Counterpoise, Meow Motherfucker and Gongkicker (plus one newcomer). Clocking in just under 30 minutes, there's some tight tracks on here, including the progressive "Seeds," the startling, in-your-face "Army of One" and the solid climax, an acoustic song called "Fact of Life," which is also representative of the solo work of singer/bassist Francis (also the author/publisher of local 'zine, Torn and Frayed). (Shawn Abnoxious) Grade: C+