F- Minus: Wake Up Screaming

If the only hardcore albums you owned were by Minor Threat, Black Flag, Bad Brains, and the Cro-Mags, you would have the entire genre covered. Sure, there are other fantastic bands who came before, during, and after those bands; however, those four created the boilerplate from which all other bands should craft their sound. The quintet espoused the theory that all music should be loud, fast, powerful, and short in length. Everything else was excess to be trimmed or left to FM radio inhabitants. Unfortunately, the modern hardcore scene is strewn with non-believers who ignored these teachings. These modern bands worship the golden calf known as metal and emo. These non-believers took the two-minute blasts of inspiration and turned them into drawn out affairs featuring marble-mouthed singers, chugging guitars, and way too much double bass. Others stripped it of its potency by writing lame pop songs about why no one loves them. Lately, these alchemists have gone so far as to combine those two forms to produce metal-emo, the most hideous bastardization yet.

There are still some who believe — F-Minus are proof of that. The South-California quintet of Brad Logan (guitar/vocals), Erica Daking (guitar/vocals), Joe Steinbrick (bass), and Adam Zuckert (drums) are intent on returning hardcore to a time when all was good and exciting. Their latest album Wake up Screaming is made up of fifteen blazing tracks that exhibit why hardcore used to mean so much to so many.

According to the CD, there are only two singers in F-Minus (Logan and Daking); however, after listening to the album, I’m convinced there are actually three. One sounds exactly like Henry Rollins did when he sang for Black Flag, the other a throaty, gruffier vocalist reminiscent of most New York Hardcore frontmen, and Daking who oddly sounds like the singer from Virginia band Strike Anywhere. The songs are also split into three groups: those that sound like Black Flag, those that sound like Sick of It All/Cro-Mags, and those that sound like Minor Threat. Bad Brains, being the founding fathers of hardcore, hover over the entire album rather than manifest on any one track.

The best example of the Black Flag songs is “Not This Time”, which would probably go unnoticed if you slipped it into a Black Flag compilation. The Minor Threat songs like “Wake Up” and “Survival” feature the prominent thrash-and-burn-in-under-a-minute approach, but the gruff vocals shake some of the blatant thievery. The best songs on Wake Up Screaming are the ones that combine the Rollins-esque vocals with the Cro-Mags musical approach. “Mother of Suffering” and “Here Lies Jessica” both feature wicked bass lines that pummel the listener as shards of jagged guitar riffs tear through, while a manic vocalist rants in a manner that will instantly force you to find your nearest mosh pit.

The oddest thing about Wake Up Screaming is that the band’s biggest concern seems to be letting the world know that Steve Albini recorded this album. On the CD cover, over the magnificent artwork of Kristin Ferrell, is a bright yellow picture that reads “Recorded by: Steve Albini”. On the back of the CD, in a bigger type face than the members of the band’s names, it reads “Recorded by: Steve Albini”. The thing is, who gives a crap? And, why is the band so proud of this? It’s well known that Mr. Albini has always said he would record albums by anyone who asked him. Furthermore, Albini’s thing is that he records, he doesn’t produce — a statement that puts the emphasis on the band. As far as I can tell, the only contribution Albini makes is by not fucking with what the band is doing. By capturing them as if they were tearing through a set in some sweaty dive, Albini treats listeners to the immediacy of the music. While Albini should be lauded for leaving well enough alone, does he need his name all over this album?

Regardless of the Albini-worship, F-Minus still produce an excellent hardcore/punk album. Too many bands today try and tinker with the blueprints in an attempt to improve upon a genre that has been pretty much perfected. The members of F-Minus seem to recognize it by concentrating on their playing, knowing that the songs have in some ways already been written for them. There are no tracks on Wake Up Screaming that won’t leave you wondering where you’ve heard something like them before. At the same time, this is the most vital record to come out of a scene largely known for its re-issues.