Woove staff writer Eva Luton spotlights Brooklyn-based punk band, Cerebral Ballzy.

American music has reached a point in which “punk” shows are plagued with giggling girls in low cut neon shirts and skeletal guys with choppy, swooped hair threatening to tell security if you bump into his girlfriend one more time.  Times like these necessitate a refreshing hardcore punk band to get you back in touch with your rocker roots.  The band that will save the scene:  Cerebral Ballzy, a hard core skate-punk band out of Brooklyn, New York.  Ballzy’s Griptape 7” Your Idle EP (2010) is a Godsend for fans of Boston hardcore and L.A. punk of the 80s.  Cerebral Ballzy revives and refines a sound from a time when there was no “fashion core” and kids went to shows so they could lose their minds, not to stand with their arms crossed and bob their heads in an attempt to look interesting and hip.

Fast and raw sounding tracks like “Insufficient Fare” and “Sk8 All Day” boast seemingly simple and senseless lyrics about vandalism and fighting appeal to everyone’s inner angst-ridden, punk-ass side.  If you’ve ever played a Tony Hawk game, or felt the urge to punch a hole in a wall, you’ll appreciate this successful shot at reviving the thrash sound of ’80s hardcore punk.  The four-piece, fronted by a gentleman who simply goes by Honor, has been compared to a faster and emphatic early Bad Brains, but on crack.  Fast guitars, screeching vocals, and a pounding snare make for an electrifying listen.  No doubt, you won’t be able to sit still and take it in.

The singer, Honor, stated in an interview, “When we started out playing, we just skated and drank beer every day.  Three years later, we still skate and drink beer every day.”  Cerebral Ballzy plays the music they want to hear in the scenes they want to play, and thrives off of the energy of the violent, sweaty crowds that flood in to be a part of the Ballzy experience.

If you want to keep your pop-punk and neon tee-shirt, stick with your city’s “alternative” radio station.  If you want to be exposed to the out-of-control world of underground hardcore punk, check out Cerebral Ballzy’s Your Idle EP.  As their grip-tape covered 7” sleeve reads, it’s “Hard to the Coors.”