ALBUM REVIEW: A Dog A Deer A Seal – Hit Bargain
Los Angeles punk band HIT BARGAIN are back with their second full-length record A Dog A Deer A Seal. The writing and recording for the album began back in 2019 and over the course of the past four years the band paid witness to the chaos that is American politics and culture that offered them inspiration in the lyrics and themes explored throughout. For HIT BARGAIN, there are simply no rules when it comes to their version of punk, and frankly, that’s the best way to approach it with their eclectic range of styles, themes and ideas.
Opening with Immaculate Vaxxer, the first thing the listener hears is alternative rock with an incredible sounding droning guitar. It feels nostalgic of early 00s garage rock before things switch into a chaotic punk rhythm and shouty vocals to boot. The best way to describe it is that it feels off in terms of the instruments and vocals not smoothly ‘suiting’ each other, yet it still works together in a beautifully chaotic way, especially when everything pays off in the chorus.
Throughout A Dog A Deer A Seal it’s hard to figure out what’s going to happen next as following the explosive opening song the band then move into Hair Trigger that falls more into your standard alternative rock track with elements that remind you of the late 70s new wave movement. But don’t let that fool you into thinking things will calm down now as the next song Pressure introduces a combination of garage rock and blues rock, with elements of punk joining in as the track progresses.
In a way, this is a record that should be experienced by going in completely blind and letting each moment surprise you as the chaos reigns supreme. Tracks that stand out include Worst, a punk track with a droning sound that then shifts into something that heavily reminds you of BLONDIE; True Crime, a plain cool grunge-inspired song; and, of course, the chaotic title track that closes out the album with an incredible punk song with shouty vocals that perfectly suit the loud, bouncy chorus where you can’t help but feel the need to shout the lyrics back.
HIT BARGAIN have created a beautifully loud and chaotic punk album here. Their approach in refusing to obey the rules and allowing anything to go when it comes to the styles and sounds heard in each unique song is fantastic, and it’s something that we hope other artists catch onto soon.
Rating: 8/10
A Dog A Deer A Seal is out now via Get Better Records.
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