Innuendo - Peace & Love LP

Vinyl debut from this hardcore band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Innuendo has a unique take on hardcore punk that combines the pulled-back, mid-paced approach of bands like Social Circkle with the grimy, nihilistic breed of hardcore that descends from the Negative Approach 7”. Songs like “Suffer for Peace” and “Walk Away” have California-sounding riffs, their catchiness accentuated by the laid-back cool with which the guitarist strums them, a stark contrast with most hardcore guitarists’ style of playing as fast and as hard as possible all the time. Yet even though the riffs are so catchy, the music never sounds syrupy, even when they do something anthemic like “Nuke This Place” (which makes me think of the Formaldehyde Junkies’ similarly anthemic “Nuke the Frats”)… the singer’s raspy, Dez Cadena-esque vocals and the band’s habit of playing like they’re being dragged through the mud ensures that. The balance of sweet and sour on this one is just great… you gotta love this style of dirty punk with fist-pumping hooks.