Moral Dilemma do the whole lo-fi, spit-in-your-face punk-rock thing extremely well. ‘Agree To Disagree’ – the band’s second effort – follows the blueprint for the authority-questioning punk band almost to the letter, but this is in no way a bad thing.
Let me explain. Bands adopting this particular mohawk-punk, fuck all authority musical style can be split up into two groups. The first group includes those who do the whole shouty-vocal, 180-bpm thing because they think it’s the thing to do, and are too lazy/stupid/busy with their hair to learn how to play instruments properly or write a decent song. I mention no names.
Moral Dilemma fall into the second group. This group includes those punk bands who play this kind of music because it’s what they’ve grown up on, it’s what they believe in, it’s in their blood. ‘Agree To Reason’ is solid proof of this. From the chillingly coarse split male/female vocals, to the hundred-mile-an-hour drums and guitars, it’s all perfectly executed and most importantly, feels genuine. With 10 tracks tallying up to just over twenty-two minutes, the songs are as concise as should possibly be, with ‘The Revolution Will Be Terrorised’ and ‘What’s Won Is Lost‘ making the biggest mark on your consciousness. There aren’t really any bad eggs here either – it’s a consistent record that doesn’t let go of you until the very end, when the final chord of ‘Question All Authority’ has rung out.
Overall, Moral Dilemma have created a second album they should be very happy with. There are too many crap fast-paced punk bands touring the country at the moment, and it’s a relief to hear an album like ‘Agree To Disagree’ that shows a band that are honest and genuine in their attempt to assault your ears.
Andy R