Sloppy Seconds “Destroyed” Album Review
The more I have delved into punk rock, the more I have found the eighties hold the largest concentration of favorite tracks. It was a time of highly political, the birth of the whimsical, and a rawer sound. It brings me personal favorites that include The Vandals, Dead Kennedys, TSOL, Circle Jerks, Dead Milkmen, and Toy Dolls among others. However, a band I never delved into was Sloppy Seconds. Thanks to D-Tour Records’ reissue of their Destroyed album I started that adventure.
Right out of the gate you can see the silly from the cover. Their logo covering what appears to be a KISS logo. Given I have never been a KISS fan, that little piece of information clued me into looking up why. The internet revealed the fantastic fact that it is a parody of their Destroyer album cover. It was down to replicating the poses of Gene Simmons and the rest of that band. Another nice touch to the art was the nod to the Misfits with the now iconic skull shirt.
I suppose I should have expected something funny from the band with the name Sloppy Seconds. The album opens with the humor about a mom pressuring her son to be gay because the straights live such boring lives. I’m not sure if some of the language used in its original 1989 release would fly today, but I found the song a humorous tone setter for the rest of the album. With that you have songs that continue down that path, like “Runnin’ From the CIA” telling how they won’t even masturbate because of the paranoia of being watched. They found a way to tell you “Fuck Nazis” with humor in the song “Janie is a Nazi.” However, not all funny as “Germany” seems to be a serious song about a breakup with a girl who was cheating.
Also, it turned out not all on the Destroyed album was unfamiliar to me. For one, it turns out I have heard “Veronica” over my time listening to punk rock. I just never placed who the band was behind it. The second song I knew was a punk cover of “The Candy Man” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. For some reason, my mind tries to find some hidden meaning to why Sloppy Seconds would cover it. The only conclusion I could come up with is that it was just so silly, why not cover it?
Overall, I enjoyed Sloppy Seconds’ Destroyed album and most of the humorous lyrics they put to it. I will continue to delve into their back catalog from here. It is a great gem to put into my every growing vinyl collection.
Album provided by D-Tour Records for review. You can find the album over at the D-Tour Records Store here.
