Review: Drug Church – Paul Walker

Drug Church = Quicksand + Bane + Seaweed

The album is called Paul Walker, and there are songs named “Deconstructing Snapcase” and “Reading Youtube Comments.” Their band description on NPR referenced pushmoshing, stagediving, eczema and Pizza Hut. The cover of the album features a boy crying into his birthday cake, while a drunken clown looks on. This is either epic trolling, or a brilliant understanding of the scene that spawned them. Fortunately, Drug Church’s aesthetic comes from a place of simultaneous appreciation and deprecation. It would be apathetic, if it wasn’t obvious how earnest these guys truly are about punk/hardcore. Drug Church features Patrick Kindlon (Self Defense Family) on vocals, doling out his acerbic wit and hoarse style over music which falls on the hardcore spectrum, where Quicksand was more punk. The lyrics are witty, insightful and, most importantly, attention grabbing. Although a debut, Paul Walker plays like a release from band that has been around a long, long time. –Peter Fryer