Them God Damn Bangs - Offense Intended

Them God Damn Bangs

Offense Intended
​self-released; 2016

3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Josh Fayne, Anthony Grigsby, Dawn Jones, Neely Pennington, Ryan Shelton and Donte Montgomery are Them God Damn Bangs. They recently released Offense Intended which is a twelve-song album. 

My first thought was what were some of the members doing? I would have guessed they were a four-piece or a three-piece with overdubs. They mention that they combine blues and punk on their Bandcamp, Facebook, etc. Yes you can argue that but most of the album veers towards punk and when there are clearly some blues influence it felt like hard rock and blues. There are some occasions when it did feel like punk and blues had a marriage.

The opener “Naked On Green Beans” is a fast paced punk song. I’d say you're reaching if you can claim there are any traditional blues elements in the song despite the fact that rock music derived from blues.

​“Stuffed Crust Punks” is the best example of their combining punk and blues. They play a traditional blues scale on the verse only strummed in a ’70s punk type of way. The two vocalists take turns going back and forth on lead vocals. They sound good and very different. On top of that the song is one of the most catchy on the album.

The band delivers pretty straightforward punk songs with “Bloody Fucking Royals” and “Whole Lotta Nothin.” The most notable deviation as the album progressed was “Bagga Bones.” They back off the punk and lean towards hard rock and blues. “Grave Robber Grace” digs deeper into a hard rock blues vibe but again backs away from the the aggressive punk styling from the first half of the album. 

“Miles To CROATOA” is a highlight. The vocal harmonies were exceptional and it was also one of the most original sounding songs. They close with ‘Five Dollar Shake” which certainly has elements of blues. In fact it felt like a very heavy blues song. 

I enjoyed this album although the vision felt a bit scattered. It’s raw, visceral and  energetic. My bet is on that these guys put on a great live show most people would be happy to see. Check them out.

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