album review: Hal Dolls

Being easily confused by science, I’ve always been fascinated by special effects. How do they do it? As an obsessive music nerd, I hear a lot of new releases, and I’m always impressed when I hear someone today making a record that sounds like it was recorded a long time ago. I know it has something to do with science stuff like amplifiers and tubes and getting “warm” sounds.



Point being: Hal Dolls is a band of veteran Louisville punks, and their new release sounds like the best record to skate to in 1982. Fans of early-’80s melodic and snotty punks like the Circle Jerks will thrill to the throwback sounds of Bipolaroid. Song titles like “Drunk Phone Blues,” “Asshole” and “What If Barbie Got Fat” should give you an idea of the biting social satire employed here; it’s an entertaining form of expression that never should have faded away. Welcome back to the future, Dolls.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly