Bent Left, “USS Awesome / Let Me Be Your Jesus”

cover-bentleftBent Left
USS Awesome / Let Me Be Your Jesus
(Recycled Rockstar / I Hate Punk Rock)

Kansas City’s Bent Left has the right idea when it comes to releasing an LP. You take two excellent EPs, release them as CD-Rs for decently cheap, and when enough folks know and like those, you take each EP and make it a side to an LP. Perfecto.

I’d not been a huge fan of USS Awesome when it came out last year. I liked it okay, but there was some vagueness to the lyrics that irked me, despite the fact that the band’s sound was spot on. Bent Left works in the Dillinger Four / Off With Their Heads / et al vein of gruff-vocaled pop-punk, and I really enjoy that whole sound.

Let Me Be Your Jesus (or, for those keeping track, side B of the LP) works that sound a little further. The recording is more diverse. There are some nice guitar parts — the 4/4 workout on “A High Speed Pursuit On Zambonis and Segways” leads nicely into a breakdown and gang vocals, and the acoustic folk-punk of “Dear Barack Obama, Please Recite the Following With Conviction & Enthusiasm” shows the band branching out beyond straight-ahead punk rock.

The LP comes on clear vinyl, with each EP taking a side, and is out of a pressing of 300. The cover is a screened foldover, and comes with a photocopied lyric sheet. The screen work is nice, with three color separation that’s very well done. The colors (pale orange, light blue, and black) are fairly awful. The LP cover looks like it sat in the sun and got faded a bit, which is a damned shame, especially considering the great job that was done on the half-tone.

You can pick this up from Bent Left at any of their shows, or from the I Hate Punk Rock webstore for a mere $9.