One of the oldest punk tropes is the song about wasting time that, without a trace of irony, is played with rapid urgency. You've got to admire the disconnect between song and performance: The speed of the music suggests the band doesn’t have a second to lose, even as their lyrics say just the opposite. The Milwaukee punk quartet Appleseeds keep that cherished tradition alive on their half of their new 7-inch split with the similarly to-the-point local punk act Strange Matter, Go Milk Yourself. “I’m a meek doe in the headlights of time,” singer Fly laments on “Wasted Time,” though the song itself is paced more like a sprinting antelope.
You can stream Appleseeds’ portion of the split below, via Bandcamp, ahead of the group’s Sunday, Nov. 23 release show at Circle A Café. Together these three songs clock in at just slightly more time than the average commercial break. My favorite of the bunch: the closing anti-nuptial screed “I Do,” which finds Fly contemplating an early marriage and subsequent divorce as she extols the virtues of casual relationships (“let’s go out and just have fun and let’s get laid.”) True to the group's usual M.O., she packs a whole lot of bitter wit into less than a minute and a half.
