Cali hardcore punk superstars Trash Talk have recently dropped their 5th studio album, and it pains me to say this but I think it's probably their most lifeless and generic offering to date. I love Trash Talk, and their 2011 EP Awake was just so hostile and aggressive that it gave me a renewed interest in the genre. That EP, along with albums like Walking Disease and the Plagues EP, were so pissed off that they sounded like they could incite riots, which come to think of it they pretty much do. Just take a look at one of Trash Talk's infamous live shows.
Unfortunately, none of this energy and hostility carried over onto the band's newest record. On first listen I was excited when I heard the intro, an interesting beat they produced with none other than Alchemist. But just as soon as I'm ready for the hardcore head smashing to begin the song just fades out, it doesn't lead into the album like I thought it might. And then the generic hardcore punk kicks in with Jigsaw, and man does it sound muddy. For a group that's been around for nearly a decade and has gained as much notoriety as Trash Talk have, most of these songs sound like they've been written by a band that's just starting out. So the intro (and outro) clips seem to be put there for no other reason than to remind the listener that Trash Talk are still signed to Odd Future Records and have hip-hop cred. Cool. And not only are most of these songs instantly forgettable, some are downright bad. Cloudkicker is easily my least favourite song that the band has written; thanks to an awful half-sung chorus and some yawn-inducing riffs.
Hidden within all the monotony there are also a handful of pretty good songs on this thing. Nine Lives, S.O.S, Prometheus and the bonus track have more energy than the remaining 12 tracks combined. But even these can't save No Peace as they still carry that same muddy, lifeless production. These songs sound like they'd be much better in a live setting. Then there's the track Stackin' Skins featuring Wiki from hip-hop outfit Ratking and indie crooner King Krule (who I was genuinely curious to hear on this album) which sounds really awkward, like they didn't really know what to do over this track... so they just kinda spoke over it. King Krule is especially unintelligible, sounding like a drunk concert goer who's trying to sing along at the show with his own insane make-believe lyrics.
Even though the release of No Peace took me by surprise this year, it's still one of my biggest disappointments of 2014, simply because I expected much more energy and hostility from one of my favourite hardcore punk bands.
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