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Record Reviews
- November, 1999 Boils "When the sun goes down" CD This
record contains the Boils earlier shit. I dig this CD more than their
current CD cause of its raw hardcore punk and not that lame attempt to
jump on the street punk bandwagon. The beat has the pogo punk styles and
the Boils use it to make you wanna start a circle pit in your room.
There's eight songs including, "Time to Strike" and "Third
World USA". Any fan of '82 hardcore punk will eat this shit up with
a spoon. (JD) Burger Kings "Supergiant Rollercoaster" LP The
Burger Kings are a garage/pop punk band much like the Groovie Ghoulies
and early Ramones. They have the buzz saw guitar sound down and the chords
are ultra catchy. And even though the vocals have the pop punk pattern
down they're sung with little passion. Still this is better than most
pop punk bands. You get 13 songs including, "I feel Alright",
"She's my Girl", and "I Quit". (JD) Consumed "Hit For Six" CD Consumed
remind me of the Descendents and early Lemonheads in a blender. Their
sound is clean as a whistle with leads straying towards the metal. The
songs here are moderately catchy and have all the hooks that fans of Fat
Wreck Chords come to expect. You get 14 melodic pop songs including, "Wake
up with a smile", "Do the Duchess", and "Chop Suicide".
(JD) Derks "Six Spindle Love" 7" Whoa!
This sonic blast almost knocked me off my couch! The Derks are like a
gin & juice blend of the Humpers and Problematics. The gritty guitars
and distorted vocals make a great combo for some awesome punk 'n' roll.
Four outta sight songs including, "Slack-Jaw Hussie" and "Electric
Surfboard". The Derks will fuck up what's left of your vapid punk
ideals. (JD) Dropkick Murphys/Business "Mob Mentality" 7" A
must have 7" for any self-respecting punk rocker! The Dropkick Murphys
are the premier street punk band of the 90's and the Business needs no
explanation! The A-Side contain the superb tune "Mob Mentality"
done by an exalting fusion of the Dropkicks and the Business, or McBusiness.
The B-Side contains the Business and Dropkicks covering each other's songs.
This is solid punk rock the way it was meant to be played!! (JD) Enemy You "Where No One Knows My Name" CD/LP Enemy
You simulate Bad Religion in their "No Control" days. So yeah,
they have power chords galore. There's 14 songs including, "Automation",
"All Good Things", and "Lock Out." If you’re
big on Bad Religion or Epi-core bands check out Enemy You. (JD) Furnaceface "Biff, Bang, Pow!" 7" (Skull Duggery) Damn,
Furnaceface cover the Jam's "But I'm Different Now" almost to
the tee. Naturally they sound like the Jam and the Buzzcocks, and maybe
a little Foo Fighters. The flipside is Creation's "Biff Bang Pow!",
again done well. For fans of great 70's pop punk. (JD) Hi-Standard "Making The Road" CD Here
is more melodic pop punk from this Japanese band. Hi-Standard are speed
induced, energetic, bouncy, and full of power. They're a bit reminiscent
of NOFX. There is a whopping 18 tracks here including, "Teenagers
are all assholes", "just Rock", and "Dear My Friends".
(JD) Johnny Black and the Assassins "Goin' To Durango!" CD (Buck & Bullet)
Kickstarter "Hangin' On B-Street" 7" Well,
I'm glad I found this 7". Kickstarter are a great 1977 styled punk
band! The Damned and maybe a little of the Drones come to mind whilst
listening to this record. The vox are sung in that "I don't give
a fuck!", "Piss off!" rationale. Four songs including,
"Feeling the Wine" and "Too Bad." (JD) Metros "S/T" CD/LP
Nothings "A Lot To Learn" CD Oh
my God! These guys are the long lost brothers of the Suicide Commandos!!
If you can picture Generation X's vocals to the Sex Pistols music, only
a little slower and you'll get the Nothings. Well I think they should
sound like the Sex Pistols cause Steve Jones produced it! The Sex Pistols
have a great sound and more bands should take notes from them. Seven songs
including, "Do You Remember" and "Reality". (JD) Plow United "Narcolepsy" CD Plow
United sound like a crossbreed of Kid Dynamite and Dillinger 4. Fuzzed
out guitars wailing on the power chords and breakdowns a bit too much.
The vox are fairly angry and angst ridden, but the lyrics are too vague
on many songs. Seventeen tracks including, "Freedom or Security",
"Walking", and "Attn: Asshole Re: Records". For fans
of California hardcore like AFI. (JD) Radio Shanghai "2-Dimentional Girl" 7"
Real Kids "Down to You" 7" Despite
the weirdo 60's retro cover art this 7" sounds amazing! If you like
the Real Kids early shit this record is for you. They are keeping 1977
rock 'n' roll pop alive! I'm not a fan of punk rock comebacks but this
is really good. Too bad they’re only two songs. Oh well, at least
I know the new album will rock. (JD) Reds "Under Control" 7" The
Reds are probably the best live band I'd seen for the first time this
year, and this, their Rip Off debut, is the first record to fully capture
their live sound...what I'm saying is, it smokes! High tension art punk
in a garage/rock 'n roll context. They cover the Urinals, Pagans, and
AC/DC in their set, which should give you a pretty good idea of where
they're coming from. Stay tuned for the Rip Off LP and another single,
and make sure not to miss 'em on the West Coast this spring---what is
it about Texans & great rock 'n roll? (TK) Smalltown Criminals "Crime Does Pay" 7" The
Smalltown Criminals are a great new street punk band from Germany. Their
songs are slowed down but ultra catchy. The guitars are light and the
bass is heavy, the way street punk is supposed to sound. They seem to
have roots in the old Menace and Red Alert records. This 7" belongs
right in your TKO Records collection along with such bands like the Reducers
SF and Dropkick Murphys. Four great songs including, "Hong Kong Hooligan"
and "King for A Day." (JD) Super Hi Five "Better Life" 7" Hey,
it's punk not knowing how to play your instruments. The guitars do the
same power chords and chug 'a chugs for the duration to the four songs.
The vocals barely sound like they're there and the lyrics are about...well
I still can't figure them out. I guess they're melodic punk. This is like
that local band you feel sorry for and end up buying their 7" anyway.
(JD) Trash Brats "Must be the Cocaine" 7"
Trust Fund Babies "Can't Trust Me" 7" When
you run the finest mail order in the world, I suppose you come across
some pretty interesting demos. Must be nice! Anyway, this unit has ex-members
of the Shifters & Spites, which really perked my interest, since I
think the Spites put out the most unfairly-ignored single on Rip Off a
few years ago. This is a really good effort, something that woulda' been
right in line w/ what Rip Off was churning out a couple years ago.
Just-past-mid-tempo garage rock 'n roll, catchy tunes, and a pretty great
cover of a very fine Consumers tune ("Teen Love Song"). There
is nothing over the top about it, but more than worthy of your cash if,
like me, this is yer bag. First 100 on blue, mailorder only. (TK) Violent Society "Not Enjoyin It" CD This
is a re-release of from 1996 and a good one at that. The vocals just top
this band for me. You know that whinny little punk kid who smokes too
much and you wanna beat up all the time? Well he joined this band. Obviously
fans of Special Duties, the Violent Society are a pogo punk onslaught.
Catchy guitars and pissed off lyrics will make all you crusty kids beg
your mom to get this CD for Christmas. 20 songs including such acts as,
"I wanna Know", "You're gonna fall", and "Erinie".
(JD) Violent Society "Totally Fucked" 7" Pat
went through puberty, damn. Now he doesn't sound like a whinny brat, nuts.
Well, Their back with the ultra speedy pogo punk rock. It's aggressive,
angry, and like a time bomb ready to explode. So spike up those mohawks
and liberty spikes boys and girls, Violent Society are gonna fuck shit
up! Four songs including, "The Problem" and "Piss On You".
(JD) |
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©
blankgeneration.com 2003 |
Hey,
this is rock 'n' roll! I'm tellin' ya, this will fit right in with the
Rehabs slogan "Beer Drinkin, Meat Eatin, Rock 'N' Roll!" This
is some rockin' Motor City punk! The singer sounds just lie Tesco Vee,
from the Meatmen, along with the sound. The guitars are thundering and
the backups are screaming, "Go,Go!!!" They also have some Ramones
inspired songs to cover all the important bases. So here's 8 rock 'n'
roll tunes to kick ass to, my favs are "Blame", "36-24-36",
and "Lost and Found" by the Saints. They keep it short, like
me. (JD)
Here
are the Metros! The newest installment on Rip Off Records! Surprisingly,
this isn't the normal Rip Off sound I'm accustomed to. The Metros are
much more clear, the guitars aren't as fuzzed out like most garage punk
bands these days. They're more of a 60's punk band. Compared to the 7"
this isn't as good. The vocals don't have the raw bite they did on the
7". And yet, they're still better than most punk bands today. Give
this a spin and hear it for yourself. 12 tunes including, "Black
Leather", "Lay it on Me", and "Purple Hearts."
(JD)
Top-shelf
Japanese power pop punk, in the same basic neighborhood of the Tweezers.
Answer Records has put out quite a few nice records without many people
noticing (like the recent Zymotics single), but this is the cream of th'
crop. From a year ago, but I figured it needed a mention. The B Side is
cool, but the A has it all----hooks galore, female back-ups, and an overall
'77 Brit-punk spirit that's lacking in the flip. I'm not sure where you
can find this fucker, but it's worth digging up. Try. (TK)
Wow!
I heard these guys are good, but I didn't think they were this good. The
Trash Brats are fucking Rock 'N' Roll! Total 70's Glam punk rock with
considerable sway from, my favorite band, the Hollywood Brats! These dolls
have been around since 1987 and know exactly how to rock! The b-side features
a ripping cover of the Zero Boys' "Civilization's Dying", that's
such a classic tune. Well if I haven't convinced you to get this you’re
probably emo, jerk. (JD)