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“Adderall vs. Big Pharma” - Adderalls’ debut EP is intense, unpredictable and has the energy that all great punk bands have. The guitars go left when I expected right, the bass went up when it should be down, the vocals come in when I least expected, and the drummer is changing tempos whenever the damn-hell-well she pleases. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. From the very first notes on this record, which I thought were going to be mid-tempo, Adderall kept me guessing. Punk music is live music. Punk is wild force which could never be contained, but all too often in a recording a bands intensity is harnessed, rather than captured. But Adderall refuses - keeping the urgency high for the entirety of this less than 8 minute record.
One might be tempted to label this record a “slime punk” record or some other goofy modern day label. But it aint that easy. Undeniably North Carolina punk, but with riffs that are straight out of the 80’s Midwest, and a more modern vocal style which crawled out of a dirty, region-less basement; Adderall are hard to pin down. So why try? Simply put, Adderall Vs. Big Pharma is a ripping hardcore punk record.
Our take: Debut 7” from this Asheville, North Carolina band with a big and catchy sound. While Adderall has the 1-2 beats and catchy, snaky bass lines that I associate with pogo-punk, they’re so much bigger, tougher, and meaner than most bands of that ilk that you aren’t likely to see anyone comparing them to Asta Kask or the Swankys. Instead, they have the heavy-handed crunch of modern bands like Blazing Eye or Warthog that trade in big, pit-clearing riffs. The vocals are also a standout, a Sakevi-inspired inhuman snarl. I know Asheville, North Carolina is not the most hyped scene, but don’t let that stop you from checking this out. This band and this record are explosive.