strates the band’s inventive use
of harmonic, melodic backing
vocals behind singer-guitarist
Wes Bentley’s abrasive lead vox.
What I also really like about
Doc Rotten is their songwriting.
They write really tight, acces-
sible but edgy songs, like The
Ramones and Green Day, but far
from wimpy pop-punk. It’s true
punk, rooted in the tradition of
The Ramones and The Clash, but
unlike a lot of modern-day punk
bands, the songwriting is fo-
cused and well-constructed.
The fantastic “Illusion to
Choose” opens with the five
new songs. First off is the metal-
tinged “Mind Control,” a blast
of nastiness that makes a state-
ment about the need to unify in
the face of hate and the shame-
ful government and media that
perpetuate it. The short but ef-
fective snarl ‘n’ sneer inspired
the LP’s title with the line: “The
agendas of the news. The illu-
sion to choose.
Stop playing a victim of the sys-
tem. We enabled this abuse.”
Watch the video for “Mind Control” by Doc Rotten
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 51
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