You could
take the chorus of any song on this record and place it next to a verse of any
other song on this record and it would match up just about as well as the
original song. There was absolutely no continuity throughout the record and I
found myself questioning whether or not I was listening to a new band or if the
song had just changed its style in the middle. I bet all of these bands are
great live. Wait a sec, I just picked up the record and looked at the pictures
on the back, now I’m not so sure they would be great live…but they all sound
like bands that are full of energy. The Pajama Slave Dancersstarted off
the album, which was promising for the first 4 seconds, at which point they did
a change up and turned it into every other pop punk song I’ve ever heard in my
life. It was almost as if they were sitting in the recording studio saying “hey
we got something here, it sounds pretty good…but fuck it, everyone likes
Screeching Weasel better anyway.” Pangloss seemed to be one of the album
favorites because they had 3 songs on the compilation, which was more then any
other band. By comparison to some of the other bands Panglosswas all
right, except they took that all right and rammed it into my head by making
their song 140 minutes long. The Tutsiswere next; they also had more
then one song on the record, but got me very confused by it. The first song was
obviously a female singer with a weird instrument in the background that was
quite possibly a clarinet. The second song sounded completely different
featuring someone doing his or her best Antiseen/ Jeff Clayton impersonation. I
have no idea what to think about The Tutsisand even if I wanted to buy
their full length album to ease my confusion, I couldn’t…because I wouldn’t know
how to pronounce their name therefore making it too embarrassing for me to ask
my local record merchant whether or not he has the album. Throughout this
record I found myself saying things like “wow, I didn’t know The Queers were
still together.” Usually, in fact 100% of the time, it was not The Queers. The
Howardsseemed to be the biggest Queers fans of all, doing a rendition of
“Punk Rock Girl” only changing the chords slightly, changing the lyrics a little
bit, and calling it “Bulimia Girl”. The song is about a girl in Ohio- that girl
is not me My favorite band on this comp would have to be The Donut Kings,
and only a little bit because I like donuts, the rest is all about the band.
They were the first band on this record that had a melody. They were the first
band on this record that had a clear and interesting beginning, middle, and end
to their song, and even better, all three of those parts complimented each
other. The unfortunate part about them being the first to accomplish this feat
is that they were the last new band to appear on this record. I don’t want to
bad mouth records just because they aren’t necessarily records I would buy.
Overall I would say this record was just okay. It’s a one-time listen, not a
huge waste of time if you are in the mood for a compilation album, but not
something you would save to listen to later. Nothing was horrible, nothing was
amazing. (Feowyn A. MacKinnon)
‘Teenage
Crime Wave’ is a compilation released by Squirrel Records, which features bands
with girls in them. The issues I have with the record aren’t actually issues
with the record; they are issues with the genre. The problem I have with female
singers in the pop punk genre is that they have decided that the only way to
sing is to whine. It fits well enough with the music, but after four songs you
have to turn the record off and listen to anything else in the world that
doesn’t sound like your three-year-old niece asking for a Popsicle. Luckily,
this comp was only four songs long. Good things were simple. Each of the bands
seemed to be experienced and solid. Everyone knew how to play the songs well and
each band knew how to achieve the sound they were aiming for. It was pop punk
for girls, or boys who like girls. The Boonaraaas started the record with a song
called “Out of Luck”. The song had a quick drumbeat and guitars that make you
want to jump around. They reminded me of The Donna’s early records, before they
decided to become an AC/DC cover band. Elvis McMan has a sweet name. I don’t
know what its all about, but I like it. They sounded really similar to the first
band vocally, but if you pay close attention to the drums and guitars you can
hear a subtle difference. Side 2 featured both the best and the worst. My
favorite band on this record was The Unlovables with a song called “Doot Da Doot”.
I never would have pegged myself to be the kind of girl who likes songs called
“Doot Da Doo”t, but I did. It’s a surprise even to me. Once again the singer
sounded pretty much the same as every other pop punk girl singer, but there were
two things that set them apart from the pack. One, they didn’t focus on being a
“pop punk” band. My guess is they played songs that they liked and went with
whatever sound it produced. They were a little less pop and a little more rock
n’ roll then the rest of the album, which I am a fan of. They also had backing
vocals during the chorus that worked really well, and distracted me from the
whiney lead vocals for at least a little bit. Worst song on this record was
“Cops took My Baby” by Bazooka Boppers. (Feowyn A. McKinnon)
The Wiggins – ‘The Greatest Apes’
EP (Girl Gang Records)
Former
Clevelander Jon Read makes music under the moniker The Wiggins. He has
relocated to Texas, and just released his latest EP, ‘The Greatest Apes’. His
brand of in your face, drum machine/noisy guitar pop has always been unique and
interesting. Jon's best asset is his voice, which is one of those voices that
is easily recognizable. It's part Billy Corgan, part Jon Spencer, part retro.
His latest effort is a noisy 7 song journey that is quite fun to listen to. From
the reverb heavy "When I Get Up" to the mellow closer "My Ear", read has managed
to create a little slice of noise pop heaven. Check it out. (Eddie Fleisher)
I finally
got a record to review that I actually liked! That never happens! Sure, it was
just a single, but it was good enough to inspire me to want to buy a full-length
album. The Young Playthings are great and I, for one, enjoyed both heartache and
heartbreak with them. This band has all the elements that I appreciate when
buying records. That is, the pounding of a farfisa throughout the record
perfectly placed in each song. Drums, bass, and guitar working together to
compliment each other rather then play against one another. Vocals that stand
out, and a female singer who doesn’t have the greatest voice in the world but
knows exactly how to play up her assets without simply screaming off key. The
recording has two short songs. Side A (heartache) features the upbeat song
titled “So Into Sixty”. Side B (heartbreak) changes the attitude without taking
out the rock with the aptly titled song “Lies”.The recording is not the
greatest, but once you get past the first three notes production value is all
but forgotten and you are feeling the beat right along with the Playthings. If
you like rock n’ roll you can dance to then this single is one for your
collection. (Feowyn A. MacKinnon)
You could
take the chorus of any song on this record and place it next to a verse of any
other song on this record and it would match up just about as well as the
original song. There was absolutely no continuity throughout the record and I
found myself questioning whether or not I was listening to a new band or if the
song had just changed its style in the middle. I bet all of these bands are
great live. Wait a sec, I just picked up the record and looked at the pictures
on the back, now I’m not so sure they would be great live…but they all sound
like bands that are full of energy. The Pajama Slave Dancers started off
the album, which was promising for the first 4 seconds, at which point they did
a change up and turned it into every other pop punk song I’ve ever heard in my
life. It was almost as if they were sitting in the recording studio saying “hey
we got something here, it sounds pretty good…but fuck it, everyone likes
Screeching Weasel better anyway.” Pangloss seemed to be one of the album
favorites because they had 3 songs on the compilation, which was more then any
other band. By comparison to some of the other bands Pangloss was all
right, except they took that all right and rammed it into my head by making
their song 140 minutes long. The Tutsis were next; they also had more
then one song on the record, but got me very confused by it. The first song was
obviously a female singer with a weird instrument in the background that was
quite possibly a clarinet. The second song sounded completely different
featuring someone doing his or her best Antiseen/ Jeff Clayton impersonation. I
have no idea what to think about The Tutsis and even if I wanted to buy
their full length album to ease my confusion, I couldn’t…because I wouldn’t know
how to pronounce their name therefore making it too embarrassing for me to ask
my local record merchant whether or not he has the album. Throughout this
record I found myself saying things like “wow, I didn’t know The Queers were
still together.” Usually, in fact 100% of the time, it was not The Queers. The
Howards seemed to be the biggest Queers fans of all, doing a rendition of
“Punk Rock Girl” only changing the chords slightly, changing the lyrics a little
bit, and calling it “Bulimia Girl”. The song is about a girl in Ohio- that girl
is not me My favorite band on this comp would have to be The Donut Kings,
and only a little bit because I like donuts, the rest is all about the band.
They were the first band on this record that had a melody. They were the first
band on this record that had a clear and interesting beginning, middle, and end
to their song, and even better, all three of those parts complimented each
other. The unfortunate part about them being the first to accomplish this feat
is that they were the last new band to appear on this record. I don’t want to
bad mouth records just because they aren’t necessarily records I would buy.
Overall I would say this record was just okay. It’s a one-time listen, not a
huge waste of time if you are in the mood for a compilation album, but not
something you would save to listen to later. Nothing was horrible, nothing was
amazing. (Feowyn A. MacKinnon)