Defektors - The Bottom of the City (2010) [Nominal/Grotesque Modern] // Grade: C

You would’ve thought that a band that has been around for five years or so and built a solid fan base for their raucous raw punk tunes would’ve been further along in album releases, but no. The Bottom of the City is Vancouver based punk band Defektors first real LP. They’ve previously released tracks on some 7” but never a full album in that time. The Bottom of the City in actuality isn’t really all new material either. the LP is actually full of previously released tracks but are now tightened up and tweaked that as a result has created a far cleaner album I’m not so sure all of their fans were expecting. The LP (which clocks in at about 30 minutes) is actually full of previously released tracks which have are now tightened up and tweaked resulting in a far cleaner sound than their previous incarnations.

I can understand why maybe refining the tracks for their first official released album would’ve been a good idea in theory but the result has taken away a lot of the edge and rawness that Defektors fans have grown to love and spazz out over. Sure for some bands it works out but for the louder, edgier stuff like this? Not always. And while I can appreciate that it’s difficult to translate a band like the Defektors raucous live energy onto a record, it can be done… unfortunately The Bottom of the City doesn’t successfully capture that vibe. “Torn to Pieces” and “Never Really Tried” feel way too clean cut now. That brutal screechy grit from Phillip’s and Haywood’s vocals is gone and replaced with these nicely mixed vocals and it’s just not the same. Whereas the Defektors 7” and Compilation cuts had a timeless quality to them, songs like “Don’t Like Anything” and “Black Hole” when heard on the new LP sound so dated. “Doomsday Girl” has been stretched out a bit and lost that awesome garage punk/blue grass feel from it’s original 7″ version. The only real saving grace on this album for me was “Kick First One” and “Burning Light.” Those songs still pack a solid punk punch and benefited from their now über amped drums, grittier vocals and distorted guitars.

I don’t doubt that The Bottom of the City loud and clean sound may have the ability to draw in newer and wider array of fans to the Defektors, but for older fans this is going to be let down. The Defektors had  the ability to shake you to your core and sadly that’s mostly lost here in the mix.

- purpleplaid