This was the pleasant surprise. Judging solely on the photocopied lyrics and artwork in a plastic sleeve and the spray painted CD-R, I assumed this was probably a crust or D-Beat album when I picked this up. Basement Black, instead, is melodic hardcore sung by dudes that sound like they have some serious facial hair and a bone to pick with the world. There’s a definite Hot Water Music vibe going on, but unlike Young Livers or Bridge And Tunnel, I actually find the music interesting. There’s some passion and immediacy to the proceedings that the aforementioned bands lack. At times I would say there are even traces of the Lawrence Arms more throat scratching moments and Tiltwheel showing up. The lyrics are also pretty good, to boot (although I’ll be damned if I could make out more than half of them without the lyric sheet). I think this will only get better with repeated listens.
–Adrian (Dead Broke)