Review: Bare Minimum – Hit After Hit

In this corner, an album with a title that so obviously invokes a musical beatdown, I expect its unrelenting arsenal of raw vocals intertwined with the pounding combination of melodic hardcore will leave few dissatisfied. The first blow is “Laptop Jockey,” where they rip off the iconic lyrics from a classic Pink Floyd track, “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)”—“Hey! DJ! Leave us kids alone!” The second track is the classic tip of the hat to the underdogs, “Nerd at the Punk Show,” claiming that a scene dedicated to outcasts is ironically developing a mentality similar to what you get in a frat house. The third (and final) blow is the lyrically mysterious, yet overwhelmingly catchy “Snake Charmer.” You bet I’ll want to scream that chorus all day. What an album! Clearly, Hit After Hit lives up to its title, will anything take it away?—Eric U. Norris