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Humble Gods: Born Free
[Suburban Noize]

Brad Daddy X and the Humble Gods are back.  Let me rephrase that: the Humble Gods are back, but Brad X never really left.  He just got rid of the West Coast hip-hop dialect and the Kottonmouth Kings gig for awhile.

Born Free marks the return of the Humble Gods after a six-year hiatus.  In their heyday, they celebrated the late 70s and 80s punk sounds from an Orange County, CA, perspective. This release celebrates the same, but with some new members due to the unfortunate loss of some of their veteran players.

Musically, its a respectable set.  Born Free kicks off with a Black Flag paced rocker, Destroy, aptly packaged for any receptive anarchist.  Another Day keeps the pace with a Sex Pistols (and Black Flag) infused in your face attack.  Ultimately, things slow down a little for Sickworld, a punker's rhapsody to our polluted oceans and the air that begins to choke us.  Finally, theres a nod to the Clash with the reggae-inspired Irie Feelin, a bonus track tacked to the end to promote an upcoming release from Brad Xs label.

Speaking of promotions, towards the end of the release, listeners get a Subnoize Radio sales pitch basically 45 seconds of Brad X in a radio DJ voice promoting future Humble Gods/Brad X/Pakelika/Kottonmouth Kings, etc., etc., etc., releases.  He even includes release dates to hammer the promotion home, leading one to ask where the missing "operators are standing by" coda went.  The irony is almost jarring, because devices like these quickly diminish the Humble Gods' credibility as Victims of Society attacking the Man or the big corporate machineor pollutionor religionor <fill in anarchist target here>.  Depending on the desired market du jour, Brad Xs releases know the formula for jumping from KMK youknowhatimsayin street-wise rapper to a screaming but phonetically proper Henry Rollins-style punker in an Orange County minute.

Enjoy their music, sure, but pay close attention to how the product is packagedand by that, I dont mean the inserts, jewel case, and cellophane, youknowhatimsayin?

This album can be purchased at Amazon, Insound, and CD Universe

Humble Gods Official Website

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