Reviews

Life is Beautiful Men’s Health 12″

Don’t let the cover fool you. Actually, please do. Let the artwork open the door, and invite yourself into the world of Men’s Health. Vile, self-deprecating Midwestern powerviolence awaits. Ten disturbing doses fill the smooth grooves of this one-sided ruby red wax, so you don’t even have to flip it over to do it all over again. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL will surprise you (the solos in “Hunk” and the title track), disgust you (the lyrics to “Dysfunction”), surprise you (“Don’t Touch Me” is a sleeper smash that will sadly never be)…but mostly they will crush you (“Sorrow Collective/Torment of Consciousness” in its entirety). And they manage to avoid genre-specific trappings in the process—you are familiar with the sound(s), but you haven’t heard this before, and that is an accomplishment.