 that I had sniffed out from their inception, the Cruisers had been around for quite a while before I really took notice (their first 7" was released in 1995). It was their 1998 debut album Deep Six Holiday (TKO Records) that turned me, instantly, into a diehard fan. It quickly became a classic of its time. To this day I rate it as one of the four or five greatest punk albums released in the '90s. I still listen to it today.
While a lot of people categorized the Cruisers as "street punk", to my mind that was pretty far off the mark. Blending a palpable Clash influence with o.g. mod stylings a la The Who/Small Faces and good old greasy Texan punk rock n' roll, the Cruisers were an "old school" punk group minus the copycat inclinations of many of their contemporaries. What I noticed right off was how good the lyrics were. English born-and-raised frontman Neil Curran may have sounded a little like Mick Jones, but as a writer he had more in common with the acerbic wit and poetic voice of Ian Hunter, Ray Davies, or Paul Weller. Every song was like a short story, and I had darn near as much fun reading the lyrics sheet as I did listening to the record. Deep Six Holiday, almost cinematic in scope, is full of songs about the bitter realities of responsible adulthood and the inglorious struggles of a working musician. Straight up, the record has soul. I could listen to "Shakespeare Couldn't Help" or "Say Goodnight" a thousand times. Hell, I probably have! And what a band! Graham Mills was an absolute star on lead guitar, while Dave VonHoodlum and Brent Schumacher comprised a propulsive & highly underrated rhythm section. If you go to iTunes and look up Deep Six Holiday, you'll find a single review stating, "I've been into punk music all my life, and this is the best band I've heard since The Undertones". Now there is a guy who knows his stuff!
I was fortunate enough to see the Dead End Cruisers a couple times on tour, and their live show absolutely blew away their records. And what a great bunch of dudes! I've said this about a lot of bands, but in the case of the Cruisers it was especially true: they should have been huge! Another fine LP, The Patron Saints of Wheless Lane, was released on Unity Squad Records in 2000 to little fanfare. If you see it around, it's totally worth getting ("NyQuil Sweats" and "First Kisses" are two of the band's best songs, in my opinion). It was, sadly, the last recording the Cruisers did before splitting. Curran, Mills, and Schumacher briefly re-grouped as The Score in the mid-to-late 2000s. You probably never heard them, so check them out here! They, too, should have been huge.
-L.R.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Paper Bags!
When a band terms itself "old school street punk garage slop", you know you're in for a royal treat! While the Paper Bags may hide behind their top-secret identities, this San Fran supergroup is believed to include members of the Trust Fund Babies, Sewer Trout, Complaints*, Double D's, Radio Reelers, Bad Tickers, Corrupters, and Oil! The group's self-released EP, limited to 300 copies in a spray paint paper bag sleeve, is a raging slab of hate-fueled sing-along punk in the grand tradition of the Angry Samoans and numerous first-tier Killed By Death favorites. This is Class A snot-punk, my friends. It's mean and nasty and hilarious and catchy as fuck! The production is perfect for a punk record, and all four songs are aces. With lyrics like, "I'll stop being a prick/When you stop being a bitch", lead track "Prick" is the feel-good hit of 2011-12. I also love "Go Die", which seems to be about some d-bag hipster who surely deserves every bit of it. Additional song titles "Medicate Tonight" and "Normal Shit" suggest that the Paper Bags are not exactly singing about sunshine and flowers. I give this my highest recommendation. Please let there be a full-length in the works!
- L.R.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Cry! make an album!
It's happened again. Having finalized my year-end top ten list in late December after months of thorough soul-searching and agonizing internal debate, I find myself wishing I'd waited just a few more days. The self-titled album from The Cry!, which I didn't hear until after I published my official top ten, would have surely made my top three! I've been championing The Cry! since I first heard them in October. They're one of my four or five favorite bands of the moment. And even with sky-high expectations, the Portland quartet's debut long player did not disappoint!
What I love about The Cry! is that they're pop and proud of it! They take their inspiration from the source: British Invasion, Beach Boys, doo-wop. They understand the history and the craft of pop music. Ask them if "pop" is a dirty word, and they'll just laugh and go listen to Buddy Holly. They write perfect melodies in their sleep. They sound like they've been practicing their harmonies for 25 years - even though none of these lads are over 21! But don't go thinking The Cry! are straight-up revivalists. Maybe it's just their youthfulness, but they come off quite "current" to my ears. Their angle is that they've "reinvented the two minute pop song for the next generation". Combining doo-wop harmonies with '60s pop jangle and a touch of '77 punk, their "new-old school" sound falls somewhere between The Connection and The Biters. And that's a fine place to fall! The full-length, as expected, is stacked with hits. In that mythical perfect world I so often conjure in my reviews, "Modern Cinderella" would top the pop charts for weeks! Everyone from your kid brother to your gym teacher to your local congressman to your favorite porn starlet would be singing it while standing in line at Starbucks. If the chorus were any catchier, it would be illegal in at least 17 states. And once that lead guitar hook gets stuck in your head, you're doomed!
Perhaps what impresses me the most about The Cry! is that even if you took away "Modern Cinderella", it would still be a great album. 12 tracks strong without a clunker in the bunch, this long player could pass for a greatest hits collection! Indeed, a lot of bands would kill to have just one song as good as "Sleeping Alone" or "Wouldn't Last". I've been digging on these tunes for months. And the tracks I hadn't heard before are of the same caliber. "Forget It" is a flawless distillation of Merseybeat and Nick Lowe propelled by a ringing melody that warms the soul like a summer breeze. "Think I'm In Love" is peppy, infectious, and fun. "Be True" sounds like a long-lost '60s garage pop classic. "Girl (I Wanna Know Your Name)" suggests the Beach Boys on a boatload of amphetamines. And to think: this is just their first album! It's hardly beginners' luck. Ray Nelsen is one of the most gifted young songwriters to appear on the powerpop scene in a long, long time. And the way brilliant lead guitarist Brian Crace interprets his melodies, the ear candy buzz is never-ending!
All told, The Cry! is a remarkably upbeat record considering how many of its songs are about heartbreak and unrequited love. Love may suck, but The Cry! most certainly do not. Where do you turn when a broken heart has got you down? To pop music! If this album doesn't put an immense and permanent smile on your face, there is literally no hope for you. Its energy is invigorating. Its melodies are contagious. It will make your bad days bearable and your good days even better. It's way too premature to use a term like "classic", but from a pure pop perspective it doesn't get much more perfect than this. If you're a powerpop fan and you're not hip to The Cry!, get with it!
-L.R.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Year of Ketchup
2012 is officially the year of ketchup. Without reason, I abandoned ketchup as a small child in the early ‘70s and never looked back. It did not help that I was forced to eat it as a “vegetable” in elementary school. But much time has passed. This year, I’m opening my mind. I’m giving ketchup another chance.
It’s also the year of Mexico. My wife and I will be vacationing in Riviera Maya in March. In preparation, I’ll be dropping 15 pounds and listening to many different versions of “La Bamba”. Which reminds me…
It’s also the year of the ‘50s. For my entire adult life, I’ve been obsessed with the popular culture of the ‘70s. Seven of my ten favorite bands of all-time were from the ‘70s. Seven of my ten