It hits you in all the right places - Frank Dux releases debut album "Product of Our Youth"

 

Nearly a decade since the establishment of Frank Dux (pronounced 'Dukes', not 'Ducks'), the Cambridge four-piece have released their debut and it was well worth the wait. 

Product of Our Youth is a melodic punk oddity. Every track feels so fresh and exciting, but is intimately laced with nostalgia that immediately transports the listener back to the late nights of crafting the perfect mixtape. It hits you in all the right places.  

Blending elements of pop punk, skate punk, and hardcore, Frank Dux have composed a love letter to the music that has influenced them and an entire generation that grew up with late night drives (usually with a shitty aux cable), days at the skate park, and scraping enough money together to see a show at a greasy little club we couldn't tell our parents about.  

The guitar work is sharp, with riffs that drive each track without feeling repetitive. Lyrically, Product of Our Youth touch the pillars of late 90's/early 2000s punk stylings like love, lust, and loss - but with an effortless cool and confidence that comes with life experience. The album has an underlying urgency throughout - not a call to arms, but a much needed reminder that we're still here after all the things life has thrown at us. 

What amazes me about the album is that every listener hears a multitude of different influences from the next person. It's a punk Rorschach test. 

I am biased, I am a sucker for movie-snippets used in songs, and I am confident when I say that Product of Our Youth is a Rosetta Stone for understanding and experiencing the music of the first-wave millennial generation. 

Now, I'm going to listen to Brandtson, Lagwagon, and steal $5 out of my mom's purse for old times sake. 

Listen on Spotify here.   

Pick up a cassette or LP from Tarantula Tapes here.