RECORD REVIEW: * * * * (4 out of 5)

A slice of powerful punk -- and hidden hip-hop, too

By Jim Abbott

Orlando Sentinel Pop Music Critic

January 14, 2005

**** Whole Wheat Bread, Minority Rules (Fighting Records): Jacksonville punk-pop trio Whole Wheat Bread is a formidable presence on stage, but that doesn't always guarantee a new band an impressive debut album.

Fortunately, the 11 songs on Minority Rules (in stores Jan. 25) explode with almost the same force as the band's live show. There's nothing particularly ambitious about the approach to these hard-hitting sonic bursts, which detonate in intervals of roughly two minutes each.

Yet singer-guitarist Nicholas Largen, drummer Joseph Largen (Nick's brother) and singer-bassist Aaron Abraham deliver the goods so solidly that innovation isn't required. Producer Darian Rundall, whose credits include work for Yellowcard, merely gets out of the way to provide an uncluttered landscape on tracks recorded at Redondo Beach and Cell Studios in Orlando.

Without needless studio distractions, the emphasis is wisely on the driving beat and exuberant vocals. "Old Man Samson," which the band will be promoting with a music video produced this week at Bar-BQ-Bar, illustrates the calling card: a raucous sing-along chorus and churning guitars that blaze along with relentless speed.

All the sheer double-time muscle of songs such as "Scar Your Lungs" is accented by occasional surprises: the twangy, almost country feel to the opening guitar in "Samson," the crisp guitar solo that introduces the call-and-response vocals in "Loud & Clear." Such touches -- more of them wouldn't hurt -- start to elevate the band from its obvious influences (Green Day comes immediately to mind).

But, wait a minute, what's this?

On three hidden tracks that close the album, WWB abruptly turns into a hip-hop group. The results are an interesting mixture of moody melodies, crackling live percussion and cocksure attitude that still sounds more like a band than a DJ.

Whether the band rocks or raps, Minority Rules shows that Whole Wheat Bread does it with considerable promise.

Whole Wheat Bread is what they say they are. Dirty south punk rock. They open their set with a Slayer intro and close it with Bulls on Parade. In between that was pure, sweaty punk energy from three talented guys. Yeah they're black. Is that supposed to be an issue? Who cares, they rock hard and flawlessly.

It's three black dudes playing awesome punk rock. think mxpx, but way better. This cd f*ckin rules.

So let me start off by saying that I really do like Whole Wheat Bread, they're an incredible band that I got turned onto when I saw them opening up for Big D and the Kids Table and then again when my own band opened up for them at Peabody's in downtown Cleveland. They have a ton of energy live and they're really an incredible band to rock out too.

The problem with this CD; well there's a bunch. It seems like this CD was kind of rushed because Whole Wheat Bread was ready to begin their music career in the industry. There are only 10 real tracks (minus "Miss the Bus," a track of no sound, and three rap songs) and only about half of them are actually REALLY good, the rest are entertaining but forgetable. What these guys should have done is waited a year or so and put out a CD with all these tracks plus the tracks from the EP "Punk Life" and then they'd almost have a decent CD's worth.

As for the sound, it's pretty good, not fantastic, especially since a lot of their live energy doesn't make the transition to their CD recordings. They pretty much sound like a black Blink 182 or Green Day (They covered "Welcome to Paradise" when I saw them live back in December), except their lyrics are better and reflect a totally different lifestyle. (And thank God because Blink's lyrics are horrible) The guitar drives this CD for the most part, but there are a few instances where the bass gets a chance to shine, not enough in my opinion though. The guitar riffs are catchy and poppy and could get stuck in your head pretty easily, which I guess is a good thing.

These guys have the potential to become a very good band and I expect them to do so in the coming years. This however, is only a good band in their beginning years, and I have a feeling that the CD they're putting out this summer will be a lot better than this one. Standout tracks are "Broke" "Loud and Clear" "Police Song" and my personal favorite, "Old Man Samson" which is fast paced punk song with obvious southern influences and typical lyrics about a dude who drinks a lot. I was pissed that I didn't get to see them play it live 'cause my band was setting up to play on the minor stage at the time. I would recomend downloading this album as opposed to paying for it or just waiting for the new one, or even just seeing them live and not actually buying the CD recordings.