Guest Album Review by Anderson Rodriguez- Cheeseburger "Another Big Night Down the Drain" (2011)

            

            The album kicks off with a whammy-dive of the rhythm guitar that drops into a fat, melodic bass line, soon backed by a squealing, classic-rock styled lead.  By the time the vocals cry out for someone to call a doctor, it’s clear Cheeseburger have topped their drunk-as-fuck, yet charming-as-a-date-rapist, first release, with their sophomore album, 2011’s Another Big Night Down the Drain.

            Though the first track is the aptly titled “Party Song”, it’s the second song, “Winner”, which makes me shake my hips and pelvic thrust like I’m boning Life straight in its stupid, fat face.  Seriously, this song makes me want to fuck and be alive and smile all that lame crap, and I hate shit; like, a lot.  With lines like: “I’m a winner,” and: “Just when you think that it’s over/ Just when you think I’ve blown my load/ I hit a home run right over your fucking head…”, how could you not shake (or at the very least clap—c’mon, where my ass-clappers?) your ass to this song?  

            The first two songs showcase Cheeseburger’s rollicking, good-times style of rock’n’roll, reminiscent of Stooge-esque riffage mixed with the sneering, vocal flair of the New York Dolls—though toned down in flamboyancy, while amped up in rawness.  By the third song, “Big Night”, however, the band proves they have more than just the ability to make drunk bootys starting rockin’.  With an aesthetic similar to late 70s and early 80s hard rock ballads (Journey comes to mind a surprising amount with this song), Cheeseburger manages to keep all of the great musical sensibilities (melodic, rhythmic under-pinnings; sensibly, necessary shifting dynamics; near-crooning vocals; sweet lead-licks) that make bands like Journey a guilty pleasure for this reviewer, while managing to excise the shitty, 80s excesses and repetitions that make me hate bands like fucking Journey when I actually stop to think about them for any amount of time.

            Seriously.  Fuck Journey.

I could keep doing a song-by-song review of this album, talking about the bitchin’ vocal snarlings on “Tight Jeans” (This dude doesn’t give a shit how old you are, hun.  You look good in those goddamn skinny jeans.), or the good-time, nostalgic/don’t-give-a-fuck feel of “Roll Like That”, but I won’t bother, because you should be checking out this album already.  It was even featured on inter-show bumps on of stoner-supreme programming block Adult Swim (who released the album through their record label) [band member Christy Karacas is also one of the creators of Adult Swim’s surreal, hyper-violent Super-Jail (you might recognize Cheeseburger from SJ’s intro].

So yeah, I loved the fuck out of this album.  Even when they’re off, they’re on.

Rating: 9.5/10

Favorite Track: "Roll Like That" or "Big Night"