Within the insular hardcore world, Huntington Beach's
Straight Faced isn't entirely generic, but they're certainly not very original either, though the jagged, meaty hardcore they spew forth on
Conditioned has its moments. Perhaps the main thing they have going for them is singer Johnny Miller's raspy voice, but if he sings like that forever, he'll undoubtedly trash his vocal chords. The crackety-crack drum sound is also one of the band's signatures. But otherwise, from the photo of Miller pointing in the air on the CD jacket (a hardcore cliché) to the typical lyrics about deceit and enemies and the like,
Straight Faced is by no means trying to break out of the patented OC jock hardcore style. They've merely copied those who came before them and added just a little bit of themselves to their overall sound. ~ Adam Bregman