The Wrong Things

Album Review

It's no secret that an abundance of musicians have had "day gigs" outside of music; a musician with a "day gig" might be paying the bills with anything from medical record-keeping to pizza delivery to plumbing. And two members of 9 Left Dead, lead singer Travis Jones and bassist Jared Ellis, were both working as prison guards in Oklahoma City when they met (they have since left that line of work). So what does The Wrong Things sound like? It sounds like a CD from a band that came out of the '90s (9 Left Dead, formerly Harmful If Swallowed, got started in 1999) and never lost that '90s influence. Produced by Hinter drummer Cody Hanson (a fellow Oklahoman) and Faktion guitarist Marshal Dutton (a Texan), The Wrong Things operates on the bluesy side of post-grunge and alternative metal but isn't a terribly introspective effort. Post-grunge and alt-metal, of course, are full of bands that combine loud guitars with introspective lyrics, but 9 Left Dead are more of an in-your-face party band. And while they aren't quite as cartoonish about it as Hinder, 9 Left Dead obviously like to unite their grungy, downtuned guitars with lyrics that are more characteristic of Guns N' Roses or Lynyrd Skynyrd than Pearl Jam. The Wrong Things doesn't pretend to be groundbreaking, but while tunes like "Freak in Me," "Don't Let the Door Hit Ya," "Put Your Guns Down," and the hip-hop-ish "Bad Girl" don't exactly reinvent the wheel, 9 Left Dead do know how to bring the hooks. Although original material dominates this 2011 release, 9 Left Dead also provide an unlikely remake of the Doors' "People Are Strange" — which they remove from psychedelic rock and successfully give an overtly post-Nevermind makeover. That Doors cover is easily the most unexpected thing on this CD, which doesn't offer a lot of surprises but is a generally decent, albeit less than distinctive, example of what these Oklahomans bring to alternative metal and post-grunge.