Wretched. Filthy. Ugly

Creepy, dirty, and a whole lotta fun. That’s what you get when you take Harley Poe’s Wretched. Filthy. Ugly. for a spin. Things get rolling with “Gordon,” a Violent Femmes-style stomp that serves as the inspiration for the cover art. This tale takes you on a truly creepy journey that ultimately ends in the demise of the deviant protagonist, but the music is so much fun and catchy that you find yourself smiling despite the eerie subject matter. The disturbing lyrics continue with “Terrible,” but again the music is engaging, so you find yourself bopping along happily with a tune about defecating on a priest’s doorstep, invading the most nefarious of body cavities and killing orphans with Molotov cocktails.

The zombie apocalypse is nigh in the gleefully pessimistic “The End of the World,” in which singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Joe Whiteford recounts the demise of mankind at the hand of flesh-eating undead. Hot on the heels of Zombieland, it’s hard to listen to this one without thinking Double Tap or Cardio, and this little ditty is every bit as much fun. The tongue-in-cheek misogyny of “Suckers” takes a clever turn when the tables get turned and the predator deservedly becomes the prey. In the midst of Hollywood’s current fascination with vampires, “Suckers” injects some much-needed humor into the mythos of blood-sucking entities.

Standout tracks on the back half of Wretched. Filthy. Ugly. are the instrumental (and untitled) eighth track that melds organ-heavy surf rock from the 60s with sound bites from B movies, the delightfully disturbing “Maria” and the raucous “Stick It in the Man.” There’s not a lot of musical variety here and the lyrics will be hard for some to swallow, but Harley Poe have a firm handle on what they’re doing and do it well. Given the subject matter, it’s hard to believe Wretched. Filthy. Ugly. was written, recorded and mixed inside the conservative confines of Indiana. While this isn’t a record for the faint at heart, if you can stomach the disturbing (and often very funny) content, Harley Poe’s latest effort is well worth a listen. (Jon Schafer)

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