The Skinny on The Long and Short of It
Heavy on the noise, heavy on the proclamations, heavy on the vocals and just plain heavy, the self-released (through their Black Rabbit Rebellion imprint) third album from The Long and Short of It, Caw!: An Unkindness of Ravens follows a path of classic hardcore abrasiveness from its very first second, in which singer Ben Johnson (also of Hostile Comb-Over) — who spends much of his time so prominent in the mix that it’s hard to hear what’s going on behind him — demands to know, “Hey, are you receiving me?!”
Loud and clear, buddy.
His band’s transmissions emanating from San Diego with a specifically West Coast skatepunk mentality, Johnson is a creature sans subtlety. Most vocalists sing on disc and front on stage, but there’s no doubt about who’s fronting The Long and Short of It here. The riffs behind him would stand out with a Helmet kind of memorability, delivered in palettes from guitarist Matthew Strachota, but like a younger Jello Biafra less concerned with being annoying than being heard, Johnson is never dominated in the mix. His vocals stand separate from the rest of the band and the music becomes a backdrop for his wordy (which I can appreciate) ranting.
Fortunately then, though he’s not always on key, at least he’s always entertaining. Changes in delivery call to mind not only what must have been a past playing in punk bands, but the likes of Mike Patton, System of a Down and even a couple seconds of Primus during later cut, “On the Miskatonic.” With “Turtle Island 2012” he opts for a gruff, guttural voice instead of the usual throaty wails which does well to shake Caw!: An Unkindness of Ravens up, but so much of this showy personality is central throughout the album that it’s troublingly difficult to appreciate anyone else in the band. Drummer Tim Johnson, for example, hits hard and with a fascinating creativity in his playing, and makes a great rhythm section companion for the clean tones of bassist Brian Barrabee, but you really have to work to hear it.
Nonetheless, and whatever feelings Johnson‘s vocals might stir, the cleverness of The Long and Short of It is evident in songs like “A Brief Dissertation on Entertainment Law” and “All that Shit’s Real,” on which he seems to be mourning the perceived death of American culture in true punk style. There’s a certain desperation to be noticed on Caw!: An Unkindness of Ravens that, frankly, can be draining, but I imagine if I stumbled on them live before ever hearing the album, I’d preach their gospel as my new favorite band. The energy here is unmistakable and unrelenting — Hard. Core. Rock. — and put forth with such conviction that even though parts can be hard to get through, any effort made is effort rewarded.
Seriously though, next time, dude needs to come down in the mix. Hell, I’d even say go back, fix it for this album and do another pressing, just so these songs get a fairer representation. They clearly deserve it.
The Long and Short of It on MySpace
Tags: San Diego, The Long and Short of It, Unsigned bands
Thanks for the review, we appreciate it.
On our first few records, people always said they couldn’t hear the words, so with this album we pushed the vocals a bit. Maybe we’re guilty of going too far, but we stand by it, both because we like it and we cannot afford to scrap the whole thing and pay to mix/master/press again until we make some sort of money. We’re learning as we go, and we will never be able to make everyone happy, such is life.
We do appreciate your giving it a listen and some words, however, and possibly when we get some product moved we can remix. We’ll let you know.
Oh, and I’ve never been in a hardcore band before.
Take care,
-ben johnson