The Mental Code – ‘Force Fed’.

The Mental Code – Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

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Force Fed is the second release from another one of contemporary Punks’ Ramones enthusiasts, Phoenix, Arizona three-piece – The Mental Code.

From start to finish you are indeed force fed a very unashamedly basic, endearing and not remotely serious blend of “ramonescore” that touches upon everything from being a little insane to not wanting to go back to the now First Order ridden planet of Jakku.

The band kick off their what I can imagine is their live opener in the Teenage Bottlerocket admiring, Ramones inspired anthem of humorous self deprecation, ‘The Mental Code Sucks’.

‘My Padded Cell’ is three tracks in and stands one of the most entertaining in its classic Pop-Punk where the dual male-to-female assault proves the fun in this world of increasingly serious Punk music hasn’t quite died off – ‘I’m mental and I like it, won’t you join me here‘.

‘Hey Jock!’ is more of the same buzzsaw guitars as it digs at those still in High School mode while ‘Scary Vibrator’ despite its title shows a harder and darker sound that again would sit well well on a live bill supporting Teenage Bottlerocket.

‘Mudflap Boy’ and ‘Hamsters’ carry a down tuned approach with a mid-tempo chord progression that adds just a touch of variety to an album that is happily incredulous, with the latter dealing with the not so well known (that we know of) conundrum of anally inserted hamsters.

From that to the very real problem of psychotic cats Force Fed continues this mid-paced approach that actually rather suits the band as it plots along the power-chords. That said, by this stage of the release you are beginning to feel its length despite it being lessened with the humour.

However, on the positive, The Mental Code have very much captured the very early stages of Punk where the the whole point was to enjoy yourself to the grit of the then dangerous music really quite well.

‘Sushi Story’ is sung entirely in Japanese and not being much of linguist that is all I am able to say on that. Closer ‘Social Disease’ is perhaps the best on the release, the song itself is still for the most part the trademark toilet humour of The Mental Code but again though a dark and more distorted sound that again suits them well in its first half.

The Mental Code opt for a “Hidden Track” at the end of ‘Social Disease’ that from around the 4:50 mark simultaneously sees them at their most “punk” and at their best in regard to the recording in a track that is either live or simply unmastered where lyrically speaking the humour is gone and replaced by classic gripe at authority.

Force Fed may well feel like a long release but it’s certainly a fun one.

Find the band below:

#StayFresh

Matthew Speer

Matt has 2.1 BA in History and is most likely somewhere in his twenties. He enjoys a wide range of music, but has a strong penchant for Punk-Rock. Originally he hails from the Isle Of Wight off the South Coast of England, UK and spends most of his time around England's South-West.

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