On Repeat The Transgressions

The six songs on local band The Transgressions' first EP, Waste My Time, tend to blur together, not just because they're all simple, melodic, and short pop-punk tunes (the longest clocks in at 1:29), but because singer-guitarist Ben Gretenhart always ends up in the same place: drunk or high, alone at home, and kinda hating himself for it, but not enough that he'd actually get off his ass to finally shave or do some laundry. The EP—all six and a half minutes of it—is a hoarse-voiced yet joyfully catchy ode to being a real crum-bum, fuckup, pain in the ass, disappointment.

It's as if The Transgressions (who play Thursday at The Frequency with The Spits) can't wait to tell us all what unreliable jackasses they are. The band barely strikes the first power chord of "Bored" when Gretenhart barks out (in one of the better punk-rock vocal performances we've heard around town), "You said to meet you when your class got out, / but I got real high, and then passed out / I'll have to ask you to repeat yourself / cause I'm real fucked up, it's all that helps." But the chorus offers a tuneful apology: "It's not you, it's me / that I find so incredibly boring."

"Bored" by The Transgressions

The EP starts with a song called "Braindead" and ends with a song called "I Wanna Be Your Christian Slater," yet it's never the least bit demoralizing. For a record full of super-terse lyrics about being a "Wasteoid," it actually sounds like it was made by a trio of closeted go-getters. Chances are these dudes took a knee, said a prayer, got in a huddle, and actually put a solid plan together for the vocal melodies that make "Braindead" a warm and slightly addictive listen. It'll all sound totally familiar to your average Ramones or Screeching Weasel fan, but in admirable punk tradition, the band has made the crude and derivative work in its favor. If The Transgressions aren't careful, the effects of all that cheap weed and self-disgust just might wear off.