Are There Functional Blackouts?

A friend of mine told me about some pimple-faced college freshman in one of her classes who was talking about punk music. The freshman, of course, was decked out in his punk gear that he picked up at some Hot Topic type of mall store, and was quoted as saying Hawthorne Heights is the best punk band around today. Christ. That kind of shit makes me want to shake the youth out of some kids. Pay attention, freshman.

Chicago hosts some of the best punk bands in the country. Criminal IQ Records alone could be your source, and that’s where we look to find a new release from The Functional Blackouts, The Severed Tongue Speaks For Everyone. With a revamped lineup, Functional Blackouts bring some smarts to the shouts – well, maybe not smarts, but certainly some interesting dynamic punk rock. It has the sonic coarseness of pre-punk and is minced with 1977, but it definitely leans towards the thoughtful musicianship that always laid in the unnoticed fringe of the punk movement (more associated with post-punk).

It’s scabrous and could be dangerous to your ears, but it has that lovely “fuck you” spirit – much like my own lately, as I look at all the same cookie-cutter people walk past me on the sidewalk and in bars - yuppie and hipster alike. The Functional Blackouts extend a bit outward with Severed Tongue and have me nodding my head as one who acknowledges and thinks he understands.

Side note: The Functional Blackouts drummer, Brian Costello, released a book called The Enchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs. The first chapter is available at Featherproof Books – go read it. I know it made me want to buy the damn thing. If that’s not enough, you can check out editorial review quotes at Amazon. But buy it from Featherproof. Oh, and if you didn't know, Brian Costello is also a professor at Columbia College in Chicago.

Functional Blackouts - Kamikaze!