Number 9 Hard

Following in the line of Brewtown’s ’80s hardcore godfathers Sacred Order as well as other acts such as The Angry Samoans and D.O.A., Milwaukee’s Number 9 Hard are all about inebriation and generally benign hooliganism. It can be tough to tell whether music like this is classicist or cliché at this late date, but N9H have hooks aplenty and a surprisingly wide philosophical and musical breadth to their songwriting, considering their limited and self-admittedly fun (hedonistic?) worldview. Beer, preferably free and chugged to a ska beat, gets its due, but so do bad haircuts, prideful self-denigration and other guys’ dickishness.