CD Reviews

Mark Lind and the Unloved

The Truth Can Be Brutal | Sailor’s Grave

By DAVID BOFFA | July 1, 2008

3.0 Stars

On The Truth Can Be Brutal, Mark Lind and the Unloved blend three-chord punk with pop-rock sensibilities and spit lyrics that fall anywhere from making political and class statements to overcoming personal hardships. In other words: they’re the Ducky Boys with some new faces and familiar names — Lind on vocals (Ducky Boys), Jeff Morris on guitar (Bruisers and Death & Taxes), Mike Savitkas on bass (Death & Taxes), and Jay Messina on drums (Ducky Boys). And I mean that as a compliment. Lind’s social commentary is reliably, meticulously strewn about The Truth. On “Dagger,” he wonders how dropping bombs on the Middle East would jibe with Jesus, positing the Messiah’s response: “Won’t you take this dagger from my heart?” In “An Open Letter to Boston,” a nostalgic Lind admits that he’s “just a rat on your city streets” over a beer-soaked 12-bar blues-rock crunch. It may all be very familiar, but it’s reassuring and refreshing to know that some people never change.

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The Truth Can Be Brutal | Sailor’s Grave

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