"guilty pleasures"

The Wednesday Night Heroes
Guilty Pleasures


Listening to The Wednesday Night Heroes’ latest album, Guilty Pleasures, made me long for them to come back to Connecticut as soon as possible and play another show. Last time they were here I was stuck in Vermont, much to my disappointment – but quite honestly, I didn’t know what I was missing. I had heard one song of theirs on a comp a year or two back so I knew they were a kick-ass band, but I didn’t really know any songs other than that one so I wasn’t too broken up over it. But now, after hearing Guilty Pleasures, I know exactly what I was missing back when they played the Webster in Hartford, and I hope they liked it here because I am now a huge Wednesday Night Heroes fan. And I’d imagine anyone who likes punk would feel the same way after just one go-around of the album.

This is the kind of punk that everyone can appreciate. It’s fast-paced, aggressive, catchy (but not pop, there is a difference which listening to one song of this band’s would clearly illustrate for you), with amazing songs that you can not help singing along with. On the punk spectrum there are usually two extremes with “punk” [the general, original, unadulterated form of punk, that is] in the middle. There’s the punks who likes punk, metal, and some oldschool rap on one side; on the other there are the kids who like punk, psychobilly and rockabilly. Well, the kids who like punk and metal will appreciate this band [a friend of mine who fits this description will attest to that], the kids who like punk and psychobilly will like this band [I myself fit this category, so there’s your proof for that statement], and the kids who like all forms of punk will obviously like this band.

I’m trying to think of a good way to describe Guilty Pleasures without sounding like I’m some kind of advertiser trying desperately to convince the kids of the punk movement that it is equivalent to the second coming of Christ, but really, I’m at a loss for words. Usually there is at least one song on an album that I just don’t like, or that I don’t like as much as the rest of the songs. When my favorite band was the Casualties I couldn’t stand “No Turning Back” and when my favorite band was Social Distortion I would always skip past “Sometimes I Do”. But on Guilty Pleasures there is not one song that I would even consider skipping past. Not a one.

I would say that the standout songs on this album would have to be “Uncivilized Bastard” and “Move to Press”, but honestly I love all of the songs equally. Those two were just instant favorites of mine the first time I heard the album, and ever since I have been shoving them down my friends’ throats, hoping to create a few more WNH fans. “Uncivilized Bastards” has quite possibly one of the best choruses on the album – just singing along feels like giving society a slap in the face. And “Move to Press” has one of the catchier choruses on the album that you can not help singing along with. It’s irresistible.

The energy in this album, if it could somehow be bottled and distributed in pill form, would be one hundred times more potent than speed. The music is amazing: the lyrics, vocals, backing vocals, drums, guitar, bass…I can definitely see why the Wednesday Night Heroes are gaining popularity. They’re fucking amazing, that’s why. This is the kind of punk that makes you want to go, drag out your bass or guitar or drumsticks, and then just play until your fingers and throat bleed. Or at least, that’s what happened when I started listening to it.

I would say that fans of any and all forms of punk would appreciate the Wednesday Night Heroes, but if I had to be more specific I would say that anyone into bands like the Unseen (before they went all post-hardcore on us), Dropkick Murphy’s, the Casualties…damn, any band along those lines…would want to check out WNH and Guilty Pleasures. It’s more hardcore and fast and in-your-face than a band like, say, Against Me! or Bad Religion or Operation Ivy, but still something that I think nearly everyone could enjoy. Give the new CD a listen and I swear you’ll become a WNH fan too.