Punknews.org Reviews the Lose The Tude 7-Inch

A Columbus-based writer under the name 'OverDefined' contributed a review of the Lose The Tude 7-inch to Punknews.org.

IMHO, regarding Lose The Tude as 'jokey hardcore' is a critical misapprehension. Lose The Tude is less a joke band and more of a 'serious-joke' band. That is to say, Lose The Tude is self-aware; recognizing the problematic dictatorial style and unalloyed masculinity present in hardcore, Lose The Tude adopts the same rhetorical strategy but inverts it on its head to say, 'the emperor has no clothes' - serious techniques are used for unserious purposes, the voice of confidence is used to voice doubt and what is often an unsafe, exclusive show environment is hopefully turned into an inclusive one. But even with the play of meaning that Lose The Tude is engaged in to question how hardcore is 'performed,' Lose The Tude's lyrics and political aims are strictly earnest and honestly expressed. So Lose The Tude should instead be viewed as self-reflexive and working on more layers than easily come across - remember, the band was initially started as a response to the conservative hardcore culture popular in Columbus in 2006/2007: CCHC, et al. There is a large component of performative criticism in the songs and on-stage style of Lose The Tude, and while humor is certainly a tactic used to convey that criticism, I would hesitate to call it a 'joke.'