Review
Mad Brother Ward
Ugly Life

Ruined Records (2022) Christopher D

Mad Brother Ward – Ugly Life cover artwork
Mad Brother Ward – Ugly Life — Ruined Records, 2022

Snarling, savage, sneering rabid dog on a thick chain lunging towards your soft neck in the area of your throbbing jugular. Spittle flies from the mouth of Mad Brother Ward as he foams and drools his venomous proclamation of an Ugly Life/I Just Wanna Die.

For fans of Antiseen (Mad Brother Ward is the current guitarist), Confederacy of Scum, and GG Allin without the poop will find solace in this one-sided etched blue single. However, let's not pigeonhole Mad Brother into a stereotypical label because he certainly is not a one-trick pony. This is a blistering two-song single that once the needle is pushed into the groove it comes ripping out of your speakers like a three-headed Cerberus guarding the underworld; allowing your pencil necked whiney ass to enter Lucifers furnace and thus never allowing you to claw your way out of the internal pit of doom. Dark eh!?

Remember when punk was offensive to some and dangerous to others and quick, fast, and wham bam thank you, ma’am. Well, step right up and sing me the songs of yesteryear, turn back the hands of time for Cher, and let Mad Brother Ward bring you back on that eternal, puke encrusted Merry Go Round and Round and Round…. Forever! Punk Rock that can grab you by the gonads and tug and tug until they become meaty morsels for the hungry beaten dog on the thick chain.

Perhaps this is an oeuvre for a future full-length release. Desperate times call for desperate measures and perhaps now is the time for a no holds barred, tag team, donut twisting, spine cracking piledriver. The future may look bleak and this may be the battle cry for the end of the world (hope not!). Kaboom..the future is now!.
 

Mad Brother Ward – Ugly Life cover artwork
Mad Brother Ward – Ugly Life — Ruined Records, 2022

Recently-posted album reviews

Miller Lowlifes

Pinch Hitters
ADD Records (2025)

The debut album from Florida punk band Miller Lowlifes features a vintage baseball theme, best enjoyed with a can of cheap domestic beer in hand. The metaphor fits, as Pinch Hitters focuses on the American dream -- and where it stands in 2025. The vintage educational TV audio clips add to this past-meets-present theme. It's an album that's equally about … Read more

Art Brut

Sorry, That It Doesn't Sound Like It's Planned! Battling Satan, 2009 - 2020
Edsel Records (2025)

I’ve never reviewed a box set before but Art Brut released my favourite sprechgesang anti-art-punk album of the early aughts so I figured I’d give it a go. 2005’s Bang Bang Rock & Roll placed Art Brut among the “Art Wave” scene but was more post-punk revival than “Indie Sleaze”. Argos has cited Jonathan Richman and Axl Rose as his … Read more

The Slow Death

No Light To See
Don’t Sing Records (2025)

Few bands have as fitting a name as The Slow Death. They play forlorn, self-deprecating punk that’s heavily influenced by lonesome country. The music itself is more driving and punchy, but many of the lyrics would fit just well in a somber old-timey country ballad. It’s forceful music that punches inward instead of at The Man. The first song is … Read more