Quick disclaimer before I dive in here: there are so many stupid puns to make with the band name S.H.I.T. I promise to do my best to avoid them.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’ve got to say, the excitement around this release speaks for itself. When S.H.I.T. announced they were putting out new music via juggernauts Iron Lung Records and La Vida Es Un Mus, I and many others couldn’t have preordered more quickly. The Toronto-based band have been a cult favorite since their inception over ten years ago.
Flawlessly fusing the best parts of Scandinavian punk like ANTI-CIMEX with head-splitting Japanese hardcore from the likes of DISCLOSE and slathering on a healthy amount of UK82 snot, on the brilliantly titled For A Better World S.H.I.T. absolutely rips while intelligently speaking on, or rather yelling about the fucked up state of the world we live in.
Featuring seven songs clocking in under 15 minutes (the ideal length of a punk album IMO), For A Better World is perfectly sequenced and perfectly executed, keeping things fresh while sounding classic. They aren’t re-inventing the wheel per se but there’s no need to; this style of punk absolutely works in the hands of a band as dialed in as S.H.I.T. The vocals are scathing and venomous, the drumming is militaristic and frenzied, and the bass is the rumbling glue that holds it all together. There are also some odd electronic buzzes and hums sprinkled throughout that add so much texture with so little; it’s a great touch that deserves to be noted. All of that said, the riffs are the star of the show, with each song featuring ear worm after ear worm that demand repeat listens. On top of all of this, these songs have something important to say, and if you take the time to hear the words in addition to the music, you’ll find a powerful anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist statement.
Perhaps most potent is opening track “Corporate Funded Killing Technology”, which starts things off going full bore ahead with a powerful steam-powered train kind of energy; a propulsive crusher featuring buzzsaw guitars accompanied by fuzzed out, gnarly feedback, which actually kind of reminds me of PARANOID, whose own brand of modern Käng isn’t dissimilar to this. Lyrically, vocalist Ryan Tong, at least in my understanding, seems to be speaking directly on the atrocities happening to the Palestinian people, exclaiming “THIRTY THOUSAND DEAD AND COUNTING/HUMANITY LOST UNDER THE BODIES MOUNTING/THEY CALL IT A CONFLICT!” If this isn’t protest music, I don’t know what is.
Next up on “Rotten Column” and “Terminal Democracy”, the band continue their path of destruction featuring more lightning fast d-beat and fantastic melodies. There is a sense of urgency felt heavily on the former, with a blink and you’ll miss it runtime and lyrics dealing with the way the West props itself up on lies and empty promises. The latter is equally as scorching and provides a killer solo and echoing vocal effect used quite effectively in its closing moments.
“Haunted” features a anxiety-inducing 1-2 drumbeat that feels like it could fall off the tracks any moment before morphing into more d-beat fury accompanied by spiky vocals and heavily distorted riffs that push themselves to the front of the mix, almost elbowing the drums for space.
“Imminient Destruction” may be my favorite of the bunch, mostly because of the insane drumming, which I assure you will blow your head off. It’s a propulsive roll that makes you feel like you’re careening down the highway with no brakes. It really is a thrilling song and one that I had to listen to a second time immediately, something I typically prefer not to do when I first run through an album.
“KTF” (Kill The Fuckers) leans into the UK82 style as Daniel Lupton states in the album’s Bandcamp write up and the description is spot on. The snotty vocals sound as authentic as a first pressing of “Short Sharp Shock.”
Finally the album closes with “Captive (In A Mutilated Vista)”, the longest track on the LP and a chugging behemoth of a song. On top of a monstrous riff, the song boasts my favorite lyric, “CAPITAL EATS ALL/WHILE WE SIT AT THIS LIFELESS FEAST”. It’s a perfect way to wrap an album that points it’s finger directly at the oppressors while acknowledging that we also have a role to play in the destruction of our own humanity.
This year has been an absolute S.H.I.T.-show (sorry) in so many ways, domestically and more importantly abroad. For many, myself included, this music provides a kind of catharsis that helps process what we see and hear every day. Not to be dramatic, but by putting out a record as angry, blunt, and listenable as For A Better World, bands like S.H.I.T make the world a more tolerable place. I personally don’t have an outlet to scream my head off about how fucked up I think the world is, nor do I have the capacity to write and sing this kind of music, but records like this one provide a chance to blow off some steam, even if it’s via someone else’s S.H.I.T. (sorry again).
