Ugly Kid Joe
Uglier Than They Used Ta Be

One of all the ugly kids in the world is named Joe, and that ugly kid made three albums during the nineties and was fairly successful in the early goings. After the third album a some touring and stuff it was all silent – until a few years ago when a new EP saw the light of day and now this Joe shows his ugly face once more on the first album in nineteen years. It has been a long wait for the fourth album, an album that looks funny and features a seven man strong band. And two prominent guests that spice up their cover songs. It all seems very fascinating on the face of it, but does it deliver the musical quality the fans could desire.

It is hardrock built on a simple framework of catchy choruses and easily accessible songs, a good rock singer and great production. On all accounts a solid production, relatively varied and with a playing time kept in check, I think that it is an album that should appeal to a fairly large audience – unless of course that audience wants something fresh or different because if there are words that I won’t use to describe this album it is those along with novel approach and innovative. It is a typical hard rock album, not much else but thanks to the two cover songs it is kept well varied as songs from other creators usually adds more depth to an album, especially if the artist choses something that is a bit different from what they generally does.

It is a good album no denying that. But there are many albums being made nowadays and has been for many years before, nineteen years of good albums has passed since they latest released an album. And I don’t think they have what it takes to stand out from all of those good albums that have seen the light of day since their latest effort. In fact if you have been waiting for all those years it could seem a little bit underwhelming, and a little bit generic. I would describe this album as one of those albums that will end up in the pile of good albums that won’t be played again; maybe it has more appeal to the fans of the band or the genre.

The tracks are good, the standouts are the second track Let the Record Play that is the best track of the album and Ace of Spades that is a catchy and solid cover song – much better than the original, mainly due to the better singer. All in all I think that this is a pretty good album that might appeal to the fans, a little bit too generic to really stand out though.

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