Review Summary: 'Pour up, roll up, drink up, smoke up, never let the man hold you down, never grow up'
A Deez Nuts album where not every song is about partying until you die from alcohol poisoning may have seemed like a tall order, but in a possible effort to expand the current fanbase (or maybe just to diversify content a little), previous album
Bout It made an effort to reign in the spirited odes to binging to about 5 or 6 songs.
Word Is Bond appears to continue this trend, with more emphasis placed on the decidedly more quintessential ‘hardcore’ themes of brotherhood and solidarity. This may be like Taylor Swift stopping writing songs about failed relationships, but the themes are at least reflecting the more typical style of music by becoming less OTT and more typical of the genre. Despite this, the very apparent fact is that Deez Nuts will never fully mature- overindulgence and what I quite affectionately refer to as ‘party hardcore’ are still the order of the day, with not a great deal changing in the band's substance, and that's not a weed reference. What has improved is the finesse of the band’s output. This may seem very contradictory, as the words ‘Deez Nuts’ and ‘finesse’ maintain such an extreme distance I’m convinced a restraining order is currently in effect, but when your sound is as chaotic and fun-loving as that found on their first LP,
Stay True, and you have no desire to progress in terms of musicianship, there is really only one area left in which to improve. Now, on their 5th release, Deez Nuts have honed their sound to the point where it cannot possibly be improved upon any more. Unfortunately, it is still very average.
Word Is Bond is plagued by a serious case of repetition; something that also severely afflicted their previous album. The overused crowd chants, ABC riffing and basic song structures are perhaps all hallmarks of the hardcore genre, but the album graduates from complacent to just plain lazy much too fast, especially for a record of such fleeting length. The gradual build of guitars in introduction track ‘Word’ is reminiscent of the title opener of
Stay True, but when vocalist JJ Peters treats listeners to his initial shout of ‘WORD!’, the track starts with a much more noticeably ‘hardcore’ sound, with a plodding, downtuned riff, and a skippy beat. Although only an intro, it is quite an appropriate summation of the album before it has even begun in earnest. Vocal patterns range from shouty to low and back again, with lyrical content being the standard Deez Nuts fare. Intersected at points by the aforementioned crowd-chants (the content of which ranges from mildly invigorating to full-blown idiotic), there is also an incredibly annoying motif of stuttering vocals in time to the instrumentation. Found on multiple tracks, most notably 'Chess Boxin', where it is employed during the chorus, the technique may have been rather quirky in short bursts, but the stop-start structure (accompanied by a weak intermittent cymbal fill) feels truly awkward. The album works best when the instrumentation takes over and all front of badassery is removed, replaced by simple energetic expression. 'What I Gotta Do' is a good example, moving at breakneck pace, and with a palpable dynamism that, at 1 minute 28, never outstays its’ welcome.
A great many of the breakdowns on the release lack even a novel sense of enthusiasm, building up to the crescendo fairly admirably, then disintegrating into a hatchet job of everyday hardcore ruckus; normally two or three bar chords with a mild variation every other repetition, normally accompanied by JJ’s patented caterwauling. Second track 'Yesterday' features an endearingly simple breakdown in the early stages, but any good grace afforded it lost when it re-used again later in the track. 'Party At The Hill' has a far rawer example, preceded by an emphatic retch by JJ and managing an impressive aggression in spite of its' clunky simplicity. 'What’s Good?' serves as a more hip-hop oriented vocal exercise, but the chunky opening riffs and the naked bass before the verses are a quite entertaining addition. Although the album wallows in its own mediocrity, there’s never a point where it crosses the frame from average to legitimately terrible- even worst track 'Behind Bars' has enough groove to be passable as a decent live track, even though in album form it’s irritatingly by-numbers with an extremely poor outro breakdown. Conversely, single track 'Face This On My Own' may very well be the best track Deez Nuts have ever written. A simple but catchy riff provides the backdrop, and the themes of friendship are more reminiscent of classic era hardcore. Even the shout-along sections aren’t overused and follow a less obvious pattern. It must be noted, though, that the majority of the tracks on
Word Is Bond follow a similar structure; it is just that this song hits a peak with a notably better tune to anchor it- the lyrics, whilst quite appealing in theme, do occasionally lapse and sink to embarrassingly trite.
Quite simply, Deez Nuts have released another album. It showcases all of the hallmarks they are known for in a more refined package, the musicality finally focused more on classical hardcore tropes than as an emulation of the beefy modern wave. The issue with this is a definite gulf has appeared where many tracks stand out as more hardcore-influenced ('Pour Up', 'What I Gotta Do', 'Party At The Hill'), and others as more hip-hop focused ('What’s Good?', 'The Message', 'Wrong Things Right'). 'Face This On My Own' takes the best of both worlds and blends them into a surprisingly enjoyable, if still rather silly, amalgamation. No one was really expecting Deez Nuts to bolt out of the gates with a fresh new sound this time around, but they are at least demonstrating a far more considered approach to the sound they are comfortable writing by doctoring it in a much more agreeable way. Unfortunately, the fun factor, which was perhaps the biggest asset of early release
Stay True, has been very much toned down. The attitude and overall tone is maintained, but the very obvious humour has been all but removed. There’s still tracks about partying, there are still some empowering instrumental asides, and the lyrical content is still shallow enough to paddle in, so fans of the outfit will find something to like here, despite the revitalised sound. The real issue is that the band have hit their peak with this album, and are now in dire need of a direction. Their sound is as good as it is ever going to get, managing to hit a sweet spot with the standard of production and the quality of the music itself. So where are they to go now? Improved musicality and sharper lyricism would be a decent starting point, but this is Deez Nuts we’re talking about. Who would they be if they didn’t
Stay True to their ethic?
