Modern Fix, Skratch #95: Australian punk trio The Hard-Ons has spent over two decades exploring metal-punk fusion and (often) snotty, foul-mouthed indie pop. Consider the trio of songs "Radio", "Cat's Got Your Tongue" and "Pimple Boy" on this new release. "Radio" is a sunny indie pop single about not getting a single on the radio while "Cat's Got Your Tongue" is death metal worthy of Deathtongue while "Pimple Boy" is hard punk rock. The band is still having fun and success in metal-core music. I once started Scuffy Tearaways, my own punk 'n metal act in the '80s inspired by the Hard-Ons and others. While the album is not as memorable and hilarious as the group's '80s releases, it is still a worthy album in the group's formula of toilet humor and punk with metal in a vicious blender.

Culture Bunker :The Hard-Ons have been around damn near forever and thank God for that. Originally hitting the club circuit in 1984, the Hard-Ons are of Australia's most generous musical imports known for their earlier bigger than God garage thrash punk rock stylings. Although they took a break and reformed with a new drummer in 2001 who appears on this latest effort, their time in the trenches has allowed them to dabble in a huge variety of sounds and this album illustrates that point rather well. It's a smorgarsbord of different genres looping from psychedelic pop ballads to roaring punk metal and rock. Some rather dreamy interludes cascade into hard rock anthems with soaring guitars and vice verse. They don't all work equally well of course. The vocals might be a little weak or two Pop-ey in a few spots but the ever-changing transitions and return to guitar oriented rock usually save the day. The second track "Punk Police" is a careening screaming rocker of a song with vaguely heavy metal fast guitar chord changes. The third track has long looping echo effects on the vocals, which is interesting but doesn't save it from being a little repetitive unfortunately. The fourth track "Killing Me" is really good and goes on for a while with much more success, ranging back and forth between melancholy and aggressive guitar poundings as do several others on the record. They seem to be at their strongest when they're really going off as opposed to the forays into catchy pop choruses, and they definitely go off on several tracks, which make the whole thing worthwhile to be sure. A good record but a few pretty weak spots as well that are hard to ignore or listen to more than once. Sometimes the Satanic death metal growling can get to be a bit much even when you know it's being done somewhat sarcastically and the thinner vocal spots defeat the whole on a few. You might be better served by getting one of their earlier recordings if you've never heard them, because they have definitely earned their longevity by their past efforts.

All Music Guide: And for some, the endless series of punk revivals meansfun. And not the kind the Algonquin Round Table went on about. Guitarist Blackie, bassist Ray and newish drummer Pete went into a studio again and proceeded to do exactly what they love doing, which is of course why this is such a fun album. If you don't like catchy pop-punk in any version, never mind and steer clear, but otherwise this is grand, ridiculous and just wanky enough (after all, what else to call the chugging solos and the like in "Sunny," the winningly sung kick off to the whole thing?). The idea of the Hard-Ons being reflective may cause bemusement in some corners, but it's the easygoing singing on songs like "Killing Me" and "Caravan Man" and the high harmonies on "Olympic Diver" and "Race Track" that show that gives the band a great reason to keep on keeping on. Not that Blackie can't be as blunt and brutal as needed - the grindcore metal parody kicking off "Cat's Got Your Tongue" may be a bit late but dang if it isn't hilarious anyway (and making the rest of the song a merry singalong is all the more fun). Then there's the rather foul-mouthed trading off of numbers on "Race Track," its own form of a capella goodness. Calling one song "Punk Police" and making it a merry trashing of the 'self-righteous' title characters may not be as political as the Dead Kennedys' "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" but clearly the sentiment is the same. Best song title, even if the sentiments aren't universally agreed with? "(Everytime I Hear) Techno (I Pray For Death)" - though logically the band follow that up with "Breakfast Caramel," a sweet motorik/new wave chug that's perfectly danceable too. -- Ned Ragget