First of all, I found out about Have Nots from a sidebar ad on facebook that I didn’t even click on purpose. I found this amazing band on accident and couldn’t be more thankful for my computer being a piece of crap and occasionally clicking the wrong button. To describe Have Nots in few words, I would say if you get the Suicide Machines, Rancid, and The Dropkick Murphys in a room, and have them get it on, Have Nots would be the love child of that rocking orgy.
“Proud” is the second full-length album from Have Nots on Paper + Plastick Records and is just as awesome as their first, “Serf City USA.” There are a few differences between this album and their last one, the first being that it seems that there are a few more songs of a personal nature. It’s as if they’ve gotten more comfortable expressing things in their own lives instead of the country’s. For example, the title track “Proud” expresses the love and memories that Matt (vocals/guitar) has for his father who died 15 years ago on the same day this album came out. There’s also the song “Louisville Slugger” which sounds like an experience one of them had in which they struggled seeing a friend in a dangerously abusive relationship with your standard asshole redneck, and results in him wanting to defend her by beating the shit out of the redneck with a “Louisville Slugger.”
The second difference is that they’ve tried to incorporate more noticeable melodies to some songs like “Farewell Show,” which is somewhat of a ballad but still fucking rocks. The lyrics and melody to this jam bring out the music so perfectly that even though it’s a slower tune, you still want to tap your toe and bob your head. To keep their ‘Street Punk Cred’ safe, they immediately follow “Farewell Show” with one of the fastest cuts on the record, “Jackson Dawn,” just in case you were getting worried that the rest of the album would get too sappy and slow.
Overall, if you like the Have Nots’ first album or records like “And Out Come the Wolves” or “The Suicide Machines,” buying this record is necessary for your life. They are a great punk rock band that will make you dance and mosh until you’re exhausted, bruised, battered, and covered in someone else’s beer.
Santa Barbara punks Versus The World (featuring Chris Flippin of Lagwagon and Mike Davenport from the Ataris) are in the studio nearing completion of a brand-spankin’ new album. The only other info we have at this point is a post from earlier today via the band’s facebook page, in which they state: “HUGE news coming soon, big things are about to happen around here…….” As always, we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything.