anyone who has heard about this band cannot help but be interested. people seem to have difficulty describing their music, and usually come up with something like "it sounds like hardcore meets jazz." this is a little misleading. though it draws heavily from both genres, "hardcore meets jazz" this is not. the songs tend to be mostly one or the other, with jazzy interludes like "funeral procession" and "it's in his kiss" thrown in between their mediocre punk/hardcore songs ("circuit," "johnny you're all grown up"). unfortunately, the jazz comes off - for the most part - as a novelty (only on "her health violation" does spastic, masturbatory improv become prominent). as for the hardcore-ish songs, many throw in some slower horn-heavy breakdowns toward the end, but only on a few songs ("for marcus," "attached to the hip") is the integration of styles particularly convincing. the biggest surprises are the opening and closing tracks - both essentially beat poetry. overall, this is commendable for its diversity, but there are better and more innovative fusions of jazz and punk out there (the flying luttenbachers' improv heavy, but still brutal destroy all music and the dillinger escape plan's explosive and painfully technical calculating infinity come to mind). one for the club circuit, but not necessarily the turntable.