Monday, May 2, 2011

The Hanson Brothers - Gross Misconduct


No, this is not another post of shame about these douches:



The Hanson Brothers (taking their name from the 1977 Paul Newman flick Slap Shot, right) are basically Vancouver's mighty NoMeansNo (with one or two members of D.O.A. on this album) in their jock, hockey-punk alter ego role. They differ from NMN in about every possible way, replacing their poetic, opaquely obscure lyrics and complex, jazzy hardcore/rock with lyrics that are 100% ice hockey and music that is 110% Ramones worship.

Did I just hear you yawn? Oh no, another band emulating the Ramones, you say?
WRONG! Granted, waaaay to many bands have aped the seminal NY punkers sound, but nobody, NOBODY, has done it as well as Rob and John et al. They've taken the Ramones' basic punk rock and infused it with a steroid dose of tight precision and technicality that elevates the style to another level. The real skill in what they do though, is that they've managed to do so without it being obvious or distracting.


If you're familiar with NoMeansNo's pulverising music you'll know they've been doing this covertly for years. Just listen to choice cuts like "Dad" (Sex Mad), "Oh no! Bruno!" (Wrong), "Bad" (The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy) and "Tuck It Away" (The Worldhood Of The World (As Such)).

The music on this, the Hanson's first album
Gross Misconduct, is so infectiously catchy that you'll find yourself humming it for days. This CD includes the three song 7" that came with the 1992 LP.

2 comments:

Bryn said...

I haven't heard this one in years! What a great live band... both for Hansons and Nomeansno. My last couple of times seeing NMN, they've been pretty much combined.

Thanks for sharing!

abdul alhazred said...

Right on! No more head cheese.