The Burbs - www.myspace.com/theburbs
The Prozacs - www.myspace.com/theprozacs
Regal Beagle - www.myspace.com/regalbeagle
The Lebowskis - www.myspace.com/thelebowskis
Summer Sounds: Four Reasons For The Season, Volume 1 (released 2006)
Cabana 1 Records - www.cabana1records.com
This disc is chock full of sugary pop punk rock straight from, well I was going to say the west coast... Thing is there are four bands on here, and only two of them are from the west, the other two are from Pennsylvania and Massachusettes. Each band contributed four tracks to this album, which was actually meant to be an album only featuring one of the bands, but when the label felt they could have something a lot more fun, they went with a disc full of four bands. Sounds good to me! The more music, the better! So, if you do your math, you'll figure that there are sixteen track of west coast influenced punk rock on here. Influenced, maybe that isn't strong enough, how about ripped out of the catalog of The Queers, Screechign Weasel and the rest... Yeah, that's about right! You'll find each band, while slightly different from each other, all hold onto the sounds that made The Queers and Screeching Weasel enjoyable. One neat thing about the album is that there is a distinct theme building here, a beach-esque theme. Obviously the album art enforces that, but the bands all throw out a bebopping sound that one would expect to hear on a touristy beachside area, that while punk rock is just poppy enough for the older generation to slow down and take a listen. Favorite tracks from the disc: "Girl From Next Door", with it's fast and furious opening, followed by the sing-along chorus about getting head. "Just My Style" an old beach song, covered by Regal Beagle. "Hockey Time", this is great! This song is all about rooting on your local hockey team to score a number of goals, and by attending the game, the next day your ticket is worth something at the local fast food joint. They do it here in Columbus, I'm sure they do it elsewhere, but a song about it is hilarious. All in all, there isn't really a bad track on this disc, although I wished that there was a little more variety. I mean, the tracks are so similar that you think you're listening to the same band over and over. Good stuff nonetheless! -MG |
