Christgau Consumer Guide
BAD BRAINS: "Rock For Light" (PVC):: Mediocre hardcore you can ignore, especially if you lie in an area where they dig up the street a lot; hardcore of a certain quality you love or hate. More than exfusioneer Dr. Know on "gits," it's the distinctive if not exactly authoritative blackboardscreechy "throat" of H.R. that provides the quality here, and I like it, kind of.
Christgau Consumer Guide
DEPARTMENTS
BY
ROBERT CHRISTGAU
BAD BRAINS: "Rock For Light" (PVC):: Mediocre hardcore you can ignore, especially if you lie in an area where they dig up the street a lot; hardcore of a certain quality you love or hate. More than exfusioneer Dr. Know on "gits," it's the distinctive if not exactly authoritative blackboardscreechy "throat" of H.R. that provides the quality here, and I like it, kind of. Though this repeats five tunes from their RQIR cassette, it's definitive by virtue of its Ric Ocasek production and vinyl audio. You know what to do. B +
BAD RELIGION: "Into The Unknown" (Epitaph):: Like a less musicianly version of the departed TSOL, this promising L. A. hardcore outfit has moved on to slower-tempo, organ-drenched hard rock that resembles nothing so much as late Hawkwind. Some may call it caterwaul, but I find myself moved by its anthemic ambition—and achievement. Conceptual clincher: the way they surround the dystopian-gothic tales and images—the kind of stuff that comes naturally to committed teenagers who know they're growing up but don't know that they like it—with "It's Only Over...''and "...When You Give Up." Address: 22458 Venture Boulevard, Woodland Hills, California 91367. A-