Album Review :
Blaster The Rocket Man/Destroy Nate Allen - Split 7"

Whenever someone offers you the chance to review a vinyl copy of Blaster songs, you are required by intergallactic code #471.QZB to reply “Absolutely!”  So when Nate reached out to me inquiring about just such a possibility, I did my civic duty and replied with the above response.  A week later, I received a package with the dread-inducing return address of “DNA.”  Until I figured out that these were the initials of Destroy Nate Allen, I was mildly concerned that my world was about to change for (probably) the worse.

Once I opened the package and give it a look-see, however, I was relieved and then excited.  I was holding in my hands a copy of two Blaster songs I’d never heard before!  The artwork was minimal and sufficient for a 7″.  The disc itself looked kinda cool as a marbled grey-orangish thing.  So it’s got that going for it.

What follows is a first-person account of my feelings concerning the material contained on said disc.

I placed the record onto my record player.  I lifted the needle.  I placed the needle onto the vinyl.  The record player isn’t plugged in.

I’m an idiot.

Turns out, the vinyl doesn’t contain a ton of material, but what it does have is a series of songs I enjoy listening to.  On one side of the record, there are three songs by DNA (Destroy Nate Allen).  The songs are themed in an appropriate manner to compliment BTRM (Blaster The Rocket Man).  With titles like “Distracted Nate-O-Bot” there can be no doubts about the fitting theme that ties the two artists together.  The songs are fun and upbeat.  That counts for a lot in my book.

The BTRM songs are what I was most excited about.  I will admit, the songs took a little time to appreciate.  On the first go through, as the BTRM songs played, the recording quality was of an obviously DIY quality.  For true punk afficianados, this will be a sight for sore eyes (or, er, a sweet melody for tired ears?).  As I am a spoiled modern man who lost my punk cred awhile ago (after failing to get any tattoos or piercings through 8 years of touring and now having a wife and ((gasp!)) son), I had more difficulty in falling in love with the songs.  The BTRM side of the record has two songs and they are in line with the sort of songwriting and theme that the band employed on their previous albums (not named here because the titles of those albums are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long!).  Fast drums, distorted guitars, etc etc.  I enjoyed it and wish I had it on my iPhone, but then I guess that not the point, is it?  It’s just that my record player has subpar speakers, so you have to take that into consideration when reading this review.

Overall, I’d give the album a 3/5.  I wish it had more songs, I personally like higher-quality production (again, some of you might actually prefer it the way it is), and the songwriting was solid, but not better than anything these artists have done in the past.