"Monkey" starts the album in a trashy way that I should hate, but it just makes me grin. 'Basement Pole' has to be more of a love song than it wants to sound. And 'BOT I Piss On Thee' keeps politics and pop firmly entwined in exactly the right way. It's a great album with a few shakey bits...but they don't really detract from the fun. You can listen to this with your brain switched on or off - it's nice to be given the option. Well worth a listen.

The punk you see on MTV may be full of pop hooks that pretty, clean-cut tweleve year olds can sing with, but that isn't the full punk story. If you want the other half of punk, the raw, politically charged half of punk, then you have no further to look than local punk band Humpty Dumpster and their album Question What You Believe. From the start, the most powerful and noticible part about Humpty Dumpster is the crunching and merciless guitar work of Josh Ackerman and Kurt Hilgendorf. I know it sounds cliche when talking about punk bands, but there are hints of a Sex Pistols sound on tracks like "No Ring Circus" and "Basement Pole." A fantastic aspect of this recording is that the live energy crosses over so well. All of the tracks on Question What You Believe conjure images of sweaty basement parties, where kids crash into each other listening to Humpty Dumpster's raucous punk. Unfortunately, what also carries over from live performances are the muddled vocals of lead singer Amelia Bowen. Sometimes the guitars just overpower Bowen's voice, creating a wall of noise instead of any kind of contrast. It is a shame too. Not only is Bowen's voice tough female voice a unique compliment to the relentless guitars, but the fantastic politically charged lyrics are lost in the noise. Without a lyric sheet in hand, lyrics from songs like "B.O.T. I Piss on Thee" are lost. And really, lines like "they're tired of hearing about the 'Chief' / and they're bored with the GEO / we know their white privilege / is really starting to show" are lines that people need to hear clearly. Especially if the title of the album sounds like an open challenge to the listener. Humpty Dumpster's Question What You Believe shows that the real side of punk is alive and well. Musically it is a good album, and when the vocals work, Humpty Dumpster becomes a fantastic punk band. But more effort really needs to be put towards bringing out the vocals instead of hiding them.