Campaign - Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
Release Date: February 7th, 2011
Record Label: Dick Party Records
Campaign haven’t changed a whole lot since we last heard from them. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! is another 4-tracker where they declare to the world that they really, really like Hot Water Music. I didn’t have a problem with this the last time around though, and I don’t have a problem with it now because comparisons aside, they’re just writing heady, likable punk tunes. Besides, the last real HWM album came out in 2004, so I don’t mind bands like Campaign holding down the fort in the meantime.
Every track title on Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! begins with the word “Old,” which might suggest a The Gaslight Anthem influence, especially since the first song is “Old Haunts,” and another one’s dubbed “Old Blues.” But the music has anything but Brian Fallon’s pretty boy reverb, opting instead for grimy, tattooed grit, the kind you’d hear if road gravel could sing. It’s nothing you haven’t heard before, but it’s done with a lot of heart and a lot of fun, so grabbing it is a no-brainer – mandatory if you have a beard.
My favorite song is the closer “Old Mess,” which is just another reason to grab this album even if you already have the previous one. It touches on post-hardcore influences a la Make Do and Mend (see: high-pitched whirring in the background and crunchy, delayed guitar patterns), lending it a darker vibe. The song doesn’t sound like it’d necessarily fit on something titled It Likes to Party, which makes it a unique listen. “Grew up too fast, and now you’re dying slow,” it groans. I hope this gloomier direction is a sign of things to come.
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