The Stinkeyes just dropped their first LP titled Out of Spite/Out of Mind this past Friday. The Stinkeyes are a trio local to the state of cheese, Wisconsin. I’ve seen them in Milwaukee but I know they play shows in Madison and Oshkosh so I don’t want to assume they’re MKE local haha.
Anyways, back to the new LP drop. First listen, first track on it, and I’m hooked.
Their Spotify bio says they’re self-proclaimed skunk punks and honestly I think that sums up their genre. From catchy riffs to harsh vocals to the rhythmic drum beats, do not sleep on these guys. It’s mad catchy and will have you bobbing your head along.
The band has described this creation as “40 minutes of pure aggression, frantic self reflection, clever misdirection and a teaspoon of quirk,” and it definitely meets all of that. I especially dig the third song titled, Inner Critic. Now sometimes without lyrics right in front of me and with my hearing loss, I definitely don’t always know what’s being said. However, this particular one, the repetitive part that sings, “I’ve got a bone to pick, bone to pick, bone to pick, with you,” and from the title alone, it totally makes me think of pure aggression and self reflection with my inner thoughts. We are all our own worst critics living in a world with high expectations that are not met which often leads to comparing our own failures with other people's successes. It’s always going to be a fact that someone will do better and get further than you but that does not make you at fault. Unfortunately, you will never do enough that might make society actually say you’ve made it and so it’s up to you to tell those voices that you are good enough. So pick that bone with your inner critic and tell it to shut up because you can do it and will do it.
This LP is aggressive and it's clear there was a lot of thought into these lyrics which hold a much deeper meaning to the band. However, you can find yourself immersed into them whether you can actually relate to their messages at all. Sometimes it’s good to just scream out loud. Let out the anger, it’s okay to be mad and it’s okay to feel. Even if it’s for completely different reasons.
Social Anxiety is another one that I really liked. Who doesn’t feel anxious sometimes in a crowd of unknown people? Junk Male is super catchy and a very fun beat. All I’ve gotta say and wrap up this kind of mish mash review is that Out of Spite/Out of Mind is a masterpiece and you need to listen to it. I’m definitely going to listen to it a lot through the rest of 2024. Each song on the tracklist is individually great, but they all fit together so well with the overall vibe and it’s beautiful.
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