ARTWORK / LAYOUT / PACKAGING:
This three disc box set is full of tons of goodies! Everything comes in a three disc DVD case, stuffed full of booklets, posters, stickers, and CD's. This is a limited edition pressing of just 2,000 copies, and the first 1,000 copies are each hand numbered. Harmonies from the Hamper contains a 40 page band biography booklet, written by Chase Stain (the only member of the band that stayed in the band from its conception until its demise). The bio has a lot of information regarding the bands history, and is an interesting read. The box set also contains an insert with the entire discography from the band, another insert with a detailed list of all of the band members during Dirty Laundry's lifespan, and another insert with all of the track info. I really liked the fact that the band included a booklet featuring all of the lyrics for all of the songs. The box set also has a promotional poster from the bands first release, 9 1/2 Months, as well as various stickers. This release has so much interesting materials, and I had to give it the full ten points.
(10 Points out of 10 Points)
RECORDING / MIXING / PRODUCTION:
Harmonies from the Hamper starts off with some decent quality recordings for the first half of the first CD, and as you listen, the recording quality gradually decreases. I guess that the majority of the recordings were done using analog equipment, rather than digital, because the band only had the option to record analog when they were together. I guess I should note that Dirty Laundry was formed in 1993, and broke up in 2002, and this album is the full discography of the band. So even though the recording quality isn't amazing, the band was around at a different time. Now days, you could record music that sounds just as good as some of the tracks on your cell phone, but Dirty Laundry actually had to pay hundreds to just record low quality material. It makes me respect bands from the pre-digital times. With that being said, the overall production quality is still fairly low.
(5 Points out of 10 Points)
STYLE:
Dirty Laundry seems to have frequently changed their style over the years. The one thing that the band never changed was their comedic edge, and their anti-punk attitude. The band started off playing skate punk, and they performed a more technical style of playing. After a couple of years, Dirty Laundry seemed to gradually stray away from skate punk and started playing a mix of pop punk and street hardcore punk. Years later, the band changed again, and played a bit more mainstream pop punk, with a strong rock n' roll undertone. I gave the band a full ten points for their diverse style.
(10 Points out of 10 Points)
SONGWRITING:
Dirty Laundry had several musicians throughout the bands history, but Chase Stain was the primary songwriter for the majority of the bands career, but it didn't actually start out that way. When the band first started, Chase Stain wrote many of the songs, but the original guitarist Jonathan "Jones" Woodruff wrote music for a few of the first songs the band wrote, and the other original guitarist and vocalist Brandon "B-Hound" jamison wrote some of the first songs. They all seemed to work together in the songwriting process, but eventually Chase Stain and B-Hound each started writing songs individually. B-Hound wrote the majority of the songs when the band played more skate punk, and after his departure, Chase Stain was the primary songwriter until the bands final lineup. During the bands final lineup, Stain didn't contribute as much with the songwriting, and J-Sin Daily became the primary songwriter. Stain was the frontman for years, but in the final lineup, Daily became the primary vocalist of the band. The overall songwriting is creative and decent. Most of the lyrics are comical, although some tracks focus on politics and of course there are plenty of love songs, considering that Dirty Laundry played a lot of pop punk. Overall, I give the songwriting a 9, because the songs are pretty diverse..
(9 Points out of 10 Points)
LYRICS:
Lyrically Dirty Laundry isn't the strongest. Most of the material is centered around love, which is a fairly generic subject. On the other hand, some tracks like Death Metal Song are hilarious and pretty damn creative. I think the best songs lyrically are taken from the bands Christmas EP, and the songs like I Caught Santa Clause Fucking My Dog and The Night Santa Got a DUI are just great. It's really a mix up lyrically, between some really great lyrics, and some pretty terrible lyrics. Overall, I think that the creative lyrics helped me bump the score up to a 7.2.
(7.2 Points out of 10 Points)
DRUMS / PERCUSSION:
Dirty Laundry seemed to have a problem finding a drummer during the span of its life. The band started off with drummer Kory Ochsnar, but was soon replaced with Charles Duffy. Duffy also had a short stint and was replaced with Billy Horner, who was quickly replaced with Ryan Hamilton. Hamilton stayed in the band for awhile before eventually being replaced by the bands former guitarist and frontman, B-Hound. B-Hound didn't last long, because the band split up shortly after he came back. Dirty Laundry returned with a complete new lineup, with Chase Stain as the only original member. The band enlisted Joe Detergent as their drummer, but Detergent passed away from an overdose a year later. Detergent was replaced with Tom Lynch, who was replaced by Tad Gurthman. Just days after Gurthman joined the band, Dirty Laundry called it quits for good. With so many drummers, the band has a wide variety of drumming styles in their music. Tad Gurthman was clearly the most talented drummer the band had, hands down, but all of the drummers had their own unique style, making it hard to classify the drumming for the entire album. Overall, I give it a score of 7.5
(7.5 Points out of 10 Points)
BASS:
The bass is the only instrument in the band that stayed somewhat constant. Chase Stain started off as the bands bassist in 1993, and stayed in that position until November of 2000 when he took over as guitarist, and new bassist Justin Bleach joined the band. A year later, Bleach departed the band and Stain went back to bass. Stain isn't an amazing bassist, but he played pretty damn good, especially in the early years when he had more complex fills. Bleach was a decent bassist, but usually just played the root notes, and never really showed off skills.
(9 Points out of 10 Points)
GUITARS:
The guitars are very different throughout the album, probably because of the various changes in members. B-Hound and Jones played pretty complex riffs with lots of changes, but sometimes the guitars came off as a bit sloppy. Tokyo Bill also played some complex material, but it was not nearly as technical. Bassist Chase Stain put down his bass in 2000, and picked up the guitar. Stain's playing was not technical, and had a more basic style to it. He and second guitarist Johnny Laundromat played sloppy, but it sounded raw and gave the songs character. J-Sin Daily and Troy "Yort" Buono became the two guitarist for the bands final lineup, and they both played pretty tight, and while the riffs were not nearly as complex as earlier recordings, they also had a great style of playing. Overall, the guitars are what seems to make Dirty Laundry, and I gave them a score of 8.8.
(8.8 Points out of 10 Points)
VOCALS:
Chase Stain was the primary singer of the band, but in Dirty Laundry's early years, B-Hound sang the majority of the songs. B-Hound had a style that was a bit like Fat Mike at times, and he sang more flat with a hint of whine in his voice. Chase Stain sang in a few different styles, and changed up his vocal styles in the songs. At times, Stain sang like a Ben Weasel with a scratchy whine, but would often scream in angst on tracks like Slinky and Lucky Dog. At times, Stain sang almost like just talking, and sometimes would have a style that was just off the wall, like in the bands song Incendiary, where Stain sings in various goofy accents like a Mexican and East Indian. At the end of the band, J-Sin Daily took over as lead vocalist, and he had a graspy style that was probably the most polished. Overall, I gave it a total of 9.5, because of the wide range of vocals.
(9 Points out of 10 Points)
OTHER INSTRUMENTS:
There are no other instruments, so I gave Dirty Laundry 0 points, but deleted the category so it would have no effect on the total overall rating.
(0 Points out of 0 Points)
OVERALL:
Harmonies from the Hamper shows tons of younger kids what the scene was like in Arizona in the 90's. This box set is a damn good deal, cuz for $21.99, you get tons of stuff, plus over 3 hours of music from the band. Dirty Laundry was a staple in the 90's local scene in Arizona, and members of the band went on to play in various other popular bands in the 90's and 2000's, such as Corrupt Citizen, Subject Mad, Johnny Laundromat and The Drycleaners, First or Last, Sandpaper Love, The Desperate Hours, The Vrooom, Sorrower, Numbers On Napkins, and many more! Plus, the fact that the box set is a limited edition pressing also helps. You get a lot of bang for your bucks!
TOTAL RATING: 8.4
