January 25, 2005 • Alternative Tentacles
I received this album along with some other items I ordered from Alternative Tentacles. Getting free giveaways from labels is always cool, but I have to wonder if they're giving them away because they didn't sell and the label needed to get rid of stock. Considering the age and quality of Brokers Banquet I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case.
The sound is pretty standard poppy punk rock, with a few simple power chords and relatively simplistic drumming and riffing. It's basically like a less-nuanced Offspring or Dead Kennedys—in fact I wouldn't be slightly surprised that this is the members of Dead Kennedys performing under aliases, especially considering how the vocalist sounds almost exactly like Jello Biafra. I didn't look hard enough to determine if this is actually the case.
The Yuppie Pricks is a satire / comedy band, so the lyrics all revolve around wealth or the yuppie lifestyle (hence their band name). It's an interesting concept, although I'm not sure how they managed to stretch it out for three albums. I don't find the lyrics to be particularly funny though; while I admit satire is hard to pull off successfully I don't think this album comes close. Everything just sounds really juvenile to me. Also, I find it odd that this band was releasing albums in the 2000s instead of the '90s, when yuppies were a thing. The music itself sounds very much like '90s punk as well, so it fits, but it seems horribly out-of-date.
While Brokers Banquet might be fun for a single listen, it doesn't deliver in the long run. Aside from the jokey faux-hip-hop closer, nothing about it is memorable or particularly funny. It's not terrible, but I can understand that the label wanted to get rid of it.
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