Album Spotlight: Outta Control by Kids Like Us

 

By Ryan Germ
Let me set the scene. I was chilling with my little brother on the couch just showing him a bunch of random HC tracks across all eras and subgenres. I turned to him and asked “wanna hear the song that got me into hardcore?” and he responded with a simple “sure”. I threw it on, and it was the song Gator Smash by Kids Like Us. He immediately took a liking to it just like I did when I was around his age… and at that moment inspiration for an album spotlight hit me like a train. So today I’m gonna spotlight the record that got me into heavier hardcore (and one of my favorite straight edge records of all time): Kids Like Us’ Eulogy Records debut, Outta Control.

The title track kicks us off with heavy feedback, a Coke can cracking, heavy drumming on the toms over a thick breakdown, all topped off with a tasty ass riff. The first lyrics spoken on the record are a bold declaration. “We’re outta control, we’re outta our minds/breaking bottles busting glass hellbent and hog wild/you wonder where we’re coming from I don’t fuckin’ know/this town is brain dead sniffing glue and moving slow”, and to a super young pissed off me truer words were never spoken.  It still holds true for a slightly less, albeit still young and pissed off me to this day. It caps off with one of my favorite lines in hardcore history “We’re KLU/cut loose, drinkin’ coke, and kickin’ ass” and then a sweet guitar solo. Fuck yeah.

Track 2 is titled Box of Buttholes. It’s blistering fast for the first 20 seconds before going into an amazing slow 2 step part. It switches back into full gear before switching into a nice little groovy part with only one of the guitars playing the riff. A hit on the ride bell signals the singalong part before the song ends with a solo over a breakdown.

Don’t Fake The Punk is up next, it starts fast and obviously punk as fuck, and then thrusts a juicy bassline upon you. The breakdown hits hard and is really bouncy. It ends with another quick fast segment and then ends.

Track 4 has the lovably dumb name of Don’t Eat Rocks, We Rocks. It starts on the toms and has gang vocals, it goes into a fast part fit for stage dives. After that we hear a 2 step part which is fun and fast. It ends with a fun breakdown.

After that we run into Skate Hate. It kicks off with an 8 bit sample before what sounds like a monkey screams. The song kicks in and is fast and about skating (of course). Following the fast part we hear compressed drums over a really really good riff. The callout of “fuck you” is basic but gets the job done in getting you stoked and ready to smash shit. It ends with a sweet 2 step part.

Immediately after we go into Soda Jerk which, you guessed it starts off fast. There’s a nice breakdown fakeout thing where it slows down but the ride bell signals the fast part not being over. The fill that was the fakeout comes back but now it goes into a side to side. That transitions into a breakdown and that ends it.

The second half kicks off with a great riff in Dog Food, with the drums being on the kick and snare. This starts more mid tempo then the previous tracks but you already know this song has a fast part too. It switches into a good side to side before a 1 second stop throwing you into a second fast part, after that some hits on the hi hat signal a breakdown which ends us off.

Lantern Corps isn’t much to write about. Has a good riff over a blast beat that’s more punk than grindy, it goes to a 4/4 pattern over vocals of “Green Lantern’s light”. This is probably the only HC song about Green Lantern, so points for that.

Monster Squad is one of KLU’s signature songs and it’s a lot slower than most of the record. The first lines of “We don’t give a fuck/we’ll fuck you up” are objectively corny but KLU isn’t the most serious band in the world, and the delivery is convincing and confident enough to get down with it. After the slow opening we encounter a fast part before the main riff comes back with more conviction to end us off.

Asshat is the next song which is super fast, but then the lead in to the breakdown slows us down, the breakdown of course is slow too. Then the 2 step part comes in and you can’t help but bob your head even when sitting still. Another fast part comes in suited for diving off the stage at shows, then we have a side to side on the toms that gives us another 2 step and breakdown after to end that track.

The next song You Know Your Life Sucks has one of my favorite 2 step parts at the beginning before transitioning into a fast part, then we get the second best breakdown on the record (and if you know us at Shadowtalkers you know what #1 is) which was made for throwing down before yet another fast part. A fakeout slowdown shows us what’s to come before the real slowdown comes about 10 seconds later to give us a 2 step. Then one of the more modern breakdowns on the record ends us off on that song.

The penultimate song The Clock On The Wall starts fast with tight drumming and quick riffs over aggressive vocals. A bass line being played on both a bass and a guitar leads us into the breakdown and yes, it’s slow and heavy. It gets slightly faster to transform into a 2 step part which leads us into our grand finale.

Gator Smash is the closer, and before I start I just have to say this song is probably the most important song of my life. Now I don’t think when KLU were writing a riffy ass song they were expecting to change a 7 year old from Burlington County’s life, but this showed me that hardcore wasn’t just Earth AD Misfits or Black Flag or Circle Jerks or Minor Threat but it could also blend the riffs of metal with punk aggression. It starts with one of the coolest opening riffs and the most aggressive opening lyrics on the record that gave this song a sense of it being taboo. The lyrics in question being “Motherfuck what you heard cuz it’s not what I said/power trippin pigs gotta big fuckin head”. The lyrics deal with being harassed by a cop for skating and then nailing them with your board. They transition into a fast part, before the toms signal a side to side, with the callout of “I’m gonna fucking snap” indicating the moshy main riff coming back. Then the breakdown. It’s led in with a bassline and then shit hits the fan with the primal yell of “welcome to the south” before a nasty southern breakdown makes everything pop off. Gradually a cowbell is introduced, then next we get, and I’m not exaggerating when I say this, THE COOLEST SLIDE GUITAR SOLO EVER. It’s nasty, it’s southern, and it’s what I was missing in my life. It slows for extra moshy-ness and fades out, not with a whimper but with a bang. What a record, and now that they’ve reunited for fests I beg for them to come to Philly.