Two Man Advantage - Drafted

Posted Dec 31, 2010, by The Bear.

Genre: Hardcore; Punk

When I first showed this album to a friend of mine he looked at the track listing and the liner notes and said "all these guys sing about are hockey and beer!" and my reaction was "so?" That's Two Man Advantage's things. They're one of the more fun bands to come out of the New York Hardcore scene in the late 1990s and they are still around today. Drafted is their first album. It was released by Royalty Records in 1998 and unfortunately it's now out of print, although if you can find a copy it's well worth it. Like my friend observed they do sing about beer (and other forms of alcohol) and hockey, but they do it in a fast-paced old-school hardcore style. The lead singer performs wearing a goalie’s mask and the other members wear hockey jerseys and other pieces of equipment. There’s even a member whose sole job is to go into the mosh pit and stir things up. The riffs are tight, fast and loud, the lyrics are simple but very effective, and often quite funny. The song titles alone let you know what you are in for, whether the songs are about alcohol (like such gems as "Captain Morgan," "Beer Man," "I Want a Beer," "Chug It," or "Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow") or hockey ("Penalty Box," "Skating Down the Ice," "Hockey Junkie," etc.) or some other related subject, you pretty much always know where you stand with a Two Man Advantage song. Yes, it can get repetitive at times, but for those of you who think that “Hardcore” and “Fun” are mutually exclusive terms, this record and this band (along with some of their compadre bands, most notably Murphy's Law, and No Redeeming Social Value) is your answer. Thankfully they released more albums after this one and they are still together today doing shows and making music. If you ever get a chance to see them, go!