Apparently, just being from D.C. grants you immediate credibility in the hardcore world. Good Clean Fun is a five piece hardcore outfit from our nation’s capital that wholeheartedly believes this to be factual.
Their new record on Equal Vision, Between Christian Rock and a Hard Place, is a testament to that, with its abundant references to their “underground” status and annoyingly repetitive “posi-core” flag waving. Add to that, a singer who refers to himself using a semi-egotistical moniker (Mr. Issa) usually reserved for legends, i.e. Fat Mike, Mr. Brett, etc. and you’ve got a band with a bark much worse than its bite.
The songs are riddled with elementary history lessons of the scene and awfully UN-comedic commentary of contemporary pop-culture. It’s obvious from the look and the feel that they’re aiming for the Myspace demographic (a group that largely seems to be the inspiration for their angst and disdain), which is very troubling indeed.
With so many gimmicky bells and whistles the music is virtually irrelevant. Their straightforward hardcore meets punk rock sound with throaty vocals and heavy breakdowns is just not enough to counterbalance the endless amounts of muck you must wade through to get to it.
