Altsounds - White Light Parade - House of Commons [Album]

I was going to try and remain objective. Try to see White Light Parade through the eyes of, I don't know, someone who enjoys this kind of bubblegum pop-punk. Then last night I went to a show. Some Portland band, touring in a friends camper, who played with more passion then anything I'd heard on "House of Commons". I can no longer muster a desire to enjoy "House of Commons". I just can't.

The addition of a scream, a distortion pedal, and a whiskey fueled aggression to music was necessary, not superfluous. Too often a genre can become stagnant, slipping away from any core values. It is then that the artist and the audience must both be challenged. Punk is a bloated corpse, teen beat cover models feeding on it's four-chord intestines. There's no challenge here anymore. Yet again, youthful rebellion was re branded and sold back to the young. This is last weeks edition, old news. Where were you when you realized punk was long dead? Was it a glittery PUNK emblem in an Avril Lavigne video? The day Hot Topic came to your town?

Is there nothing to redeem "House of Commons"? I look through my notes, and the only good thing I've noticed is that track 6, "Shotgun", is reminiscent of The Specials. Alright, so someone in White Light Parade has a couple of good records. I can also appreciate any song about setting shit on fire, such as "Burn it Down" or "Riot in the City". However, the poorly executed vocal harmonies of "Surrender" set my teeth grinding. Woah-oh Woah-oh.

Dear God, no more.

Let's also remember the terribly uninspired guitar riffs throughout. I'm going to put "House of Commons" in the microwave and make a pretty wind chime out of it.