One of the toughest things about assessing music is that your standards can get so high that you want every arrangement to be perfect, every song to be better than the previous one. Pretty soon you're using words like "ethereal" and "juxtaposition" in every review. Sometimes you just have to sit back, hit the play button and enjoy what comes out. I bring this up because that's precisely the way to listen to You Should Be Sinnin', the new CD from Port Huron's the Dirtys. And don't you regret it one bit.
The surprising thing is that sometimes a lack of mystery is refreshing -- kind of like watching a Road Runner cartoon or a Ron Jeremy movie. From the NC-17 cover art promising "100 percent raunchophonic punk rock 'n' roll action sound" to songs with titles such as "Sex Pain" and "Grind Baby Grind," this CD is not exactly shrouded in metaphor, nor does it need to be.
With depth comes pretension -- and there's nothing more un-punk than that. On Sinnin', the Dirtys play loud, fast and, for the most part, well. The sound is that of four guys who clearly enjoy playing their songs about sex and money, and I doubt they care what I think. And there's nothing more punk than that.
