Album Review: Boss Hog Confront The World With “Brood X”
Is it bad to say an album is rocking? Is that too plain in describing a rock album? Welp, I am doing it. Boss Hog’s Brood X is rocking. It goes straight for the “I don’t care”, anarchic style that makes this genre so intoxicating. We all want to be apart of Boss Hog’s Brood X because we all want to be apart of a group/ world where fakery is dead and the only truth is love and respect for humanity.
When you hear Boss Hog, love and respect may not immediately jump out at you as the central themes of their music. Songs like, “Elevator”, “Black Eyes”, and “Rodeo Chica” are literally about confrontation. Their blazing guitar and the sickening vocals of thermo-nuclear, lead chanteuse Cristina Martinez seem to promote a sense of chaos. Yet, lyrically, Boss Hog is about how internal and external chaos seem to have a cyclical/symbiotic relationship. When the world tries to “Shh Shh Shh”, you want to tell the world to “Shut Up”, and, in essence, that is what Boss Hog/ Martinez stand for. Each song is a dedicated affront/retort to every moment when someone told you that you were less, that your voice was useless and stupid, and that you cannot be who you are because they do not like it. UGH! People can be exhausting, and Martinez has a voice that combats the tiredness of people’s spewed hatred.
Martinez’s vocals drip with a chilled sarcasm. I know that saying someone is a phenomenally cool singer is not equated with saying they sound sarcastic. Yet, part of what makes Brood X so rocking is that they takes on the “confrontational” nature of rock n’ roll by having Martinez play with her vocals as if every song was a literal confrontation with someone/ a philosophy. Hence, she sings with a wit and intelligent prowess that one would wish to carry when facing an annoying bully. In “Signal” she is telling listeners that she does not need anything, especially fake assistance and foolish labels, to define her greatness; she will do it herself, THANK YOU! Meanwhile, in “Ground Control” she contemplates, over a hypnotic kick-drum melody, how long she should wait until the world/someone WAKES UP and sees its own self-destruction. Honestly, this album soars as a record because instrumentally it is as pristine and rapturous as a clear-watered tsunami; while you stare at its blued hues, its lyrical waves approach you with thunderous intent. Boss Hog is intending to not just give you catharsis in musically sharing your exhaustion with the world, but they are also trying to make you stand up to it.
Sometimes, you have to say “Enough is Enough!”. Like in the brokenly tender “17”, Martinez has witnessed that when people push you its because they both think they can and have a right to. As sad as it is, not everybody that comes in your life’s path is going to want to work with you or see your success. Moreover, they may try to stop it, and you, as the better person, have to protect yourself by assuring that your success is iron-clad with self-love and perseverance. Thus, if you want an album that has a bad-ass vocalist, a thick bass, a pouncing drumline, an electrifying guitar arrangement, and overall punk-rock vibes, Brood X is your album. Moreover, it your empowerment. To Buy Brood X On March 24 and Learn More About Boss Hog Click Here.
