Philly's finest punk band is back with LP #2 "At Work"! The record that was too good for Fat Mike to get his stupid mind around. 12 tracks clocking in at 20 mins of fast punk angry at the world around us. If you missed their self titled debut then maybe your life will only be 50% complete with this LP. Full color jackets, labels and includes a printed dust sleeve.Our take: Second 12” from this Philadelphia band that wears their Ramones influence on their collective sleeve. However, Dark Thoughts has always seemed like a hardcore band playing melodic, Ramones-inspired punk rather than a true pop-punk band, as evidenced by the Negazione and Betong Hysteria shirts members often wear when they play live. I’ve always said that dressing like you’re from one scene but playing music in the style of another is a sure path to success, but in actuality Dark Thoughts’ secret sauce is their incredible songwriting. At Home, while sounding very similar to their great first LP, strikes me as an improvement. The songs feel snappier and more direct (the LP also feels shorter, but I haven’t checked whether it is) and the Ramones influence is closer to the surface. Dark Thoughts don’t just ape superficial aspects of the Ramones’ sound, though. The big riff (and even bigger vocal melody) in “Psycho Ward” sounds like it could have been a deep cut hit off Halfway to Sanity or Brain Drain, while “Don’t Wanna” is just as clear an homage to Leave Home as the record’s artwork. As someone who was never hardcore enough to sell off my Screeching Weasel records, I’m right in Dark Thoughts’ key demographic. If, like me, you thought that the pop-punk section of your record collection was no longer accepting new entries, I suggest you board this bandwagon.
