2bucks Short

"The Positionary Missionary" is a great debut album….”
“The future definitely looks good for 2Bucks Short”
- Dimmer

“Oregon-based super group 2 Bucks Short have released this debut album that is nothing short of pure rock and roll entertainment. When I put this disc in the stereo, it makes me smile. It's an upbeat, danceable disc that is an amzing collection of solid punk rock. There is so much variety and influences on this album that everyone who listens will be satisfied. Fourteen tracks of rock and punk that'll have you bouncing along and driving really fast! I really enjoy this disc...strange, I like it so much I'm having trouble putting it into words! Every track just moves and doesn't stop rocking (except for the slow one). I have the CD player on random and I haven't come across a bad track yet. Think old school punk meets new school, while new school drives the rock bus to punk-town. A solid release that will have 2 Bucks Short well known in no time at all! The Positionary Mission is a sure-fire, don't-miss CD that should be in your collection of great music that you never get tired of. I guarantee that 2 Bucks Short will be in my personal rotation for a long time to come!!” - MG

There are many incarnations of every genre of music, and it is quite common to use characteristic chords and hooks or topical lyrics as a distinguishing factor to further dissect sound into clumps that appear to be uniform. Unfortunately, this type of conformity excludes many possibly progressive combinations, such as muppet gangsta rapper Huggy-G being turned down by Sesame Street.
2bucks Short is another such eclectic example. The group will be stopping in Corvallis as part of its West Coast promotional tour in support of its new album, The Positionary Mission, before it joins up with the Vans Warped Tour this summer for stops in Portland, Seattle and Calgary.
What makes 2bucks Short stand out from the majority of groups in its genre is that it's a progressively-minded punk-rock band whose message calls for the destruction of personal barriers instead of society. This decision is a risky one, seeing as that particular oxymoronic combination can easily be marginalized by the majority of listeners in the mainstream.
However, what is truly clever about 2bucks Short is how it promotes and projects this message on its first release, The Positionary Mission, through reverse psychology and intelligent lyrics. This effectively sidesteps the social stigmas which have proven fatal for other forms of life-affirming music.
For example, "Far From Good" starts off with the protagonist getting plowed and throwing rocks at homeless folks, but it ends with the realization that pretty much every alternative is better than that lifestyle. The best part about this presentation is that the lesson is illustrated before it is stated.
The vocabulary used to deliver these messages is also interesting, reminiscent of propaganda, as the band takes advantage of its audiences' intelligence by using phrases such as "utopian idealism and collective unconsciousness," that seem like they could come out of sociology textbooks.
"Anti You, Pro F*ck Off" is a great example of how a progressive message can be cleverly camouflaged within anti-social lyrics, like "The world's a paradigm so give the finger to the social norm," and a smooth bass shift with clean drum breaks.
2bucks Short also does not come up short on instrumental talent. In fact, The Positionary Mission dips into many of the dominant punk genres, such as ska and pop-punk, with decent success. This achievement is apparent in the cohesiveness of the music, despite the stylistic changes, and is displayed through how well the band members play off each other musically, with fade outs and pseudo-solos.
Kevin Cameron does a great job of bringing his bass into the forefront with loud, rolling intros and background, found in "Good to Go" and "Ray," while also being able to deliver the mellow roll required for the slower jazz lines found in songs such as "Steve" and "Dirtbox."
Similarly, Scott Sutton is quite solid on the kit and offers a stable foundation for the guitar breaks and couples with the vocal emphasis of the lyrics quite effectively.
This synthesis pulses through tracks like "Anti You, Pro F*ck Off," "Good to Go," and "Sumbitch," which have all the basic ingredients of contemporary punk but are mixed and presented in an innovative way. These tracks have a good chance of being picked up by college radio shows and will serve to amp live audiences.
"Steve" and "Hard Feelings" have a softer edge than the other tracks and serve as a sort of pop rock island in the middle of the album, but they do not really detract from the overall feel of the project.
Bottom line: Musically, 2bucks Short is a well-oiled machine that can execute an intricate weave of instruments that will hopefully continue to develop.
Stephen Arthur is a Diversions writer for The Daily Barometer. He can be reached at baro.diversions@studentmedia.orst.edu.
- The Daily Barometer