This isn’t quite a brand new release, but this band is still unsigned and is promoting it, so I was glad to review it. SICK SHIFT are an impressive outfit from Santa Barbara, California that play melodic hardcore in the vein of what Fat Wreck Chords put in the mid 1990s. LAGWAGON fans, take note!! This is easily one of the best debut cds that I have ever heard, and it’s a shock to me that this band is still unsigned! From the moment the raging guitars kick in on the first song, “Not In Your Bed,” it’s a full throttle ride the entire way through. I used to crave this style in large doses, as bands like NOFX, STRUNG OUT, 88 FINGERS LOUIE, LAGWAGON, PROPAGANDHI, PENNYWISE, and TEN FOOT POLE made up my cd collection, but eventually I moved somewhat beyond in my tastes, and it’s always refreshing to hear a band like SICK SHIFT come out and blow me away like this. This band has two particularly strong assets, the first being an amazing guitarist who’s not afraid to let his metal influences show, and the second being a vocalist that has an amazingly smooth yet aggressive voice. Imagine the vocalist from Saves the Day doing some intense steriods…For a relatively young band, SICK SHIFT sound highly mature. The lyrics were on the ball as well, hitting such topics as police brutality, low self-esteem, drunk driving, materialism, and so on. While on the surface it may not seem like anything terribly original, SICK SHIFT has a knack for presenting well thought out stories — something I admire very much. So hey, here is my call: This rules! Labels??? Talk to these guys! If they have the will to tour non-stop, then you might have something very worthwhile on your hands. In the meantime, everyone else should pick up a copy of this. Go to mp3.com, as the band has been controlling the punk charts for quite sometime there.

Back of the Bus

www.sickshift.com