It's been 2 years since "Backing The Longshot" hit the streets and at the time I considered it the top debut album of the year. Reducers SF found a way to capture my attention with their melodic street punk and, consequently, "Backing The Longshot" spent a lot of time playing in my stereo. Before I attempt to critique "Crappy Clubs And Smelly Pubs", I should make it clear that I already consider TKO to be the top punk label around. They find a way to consistently release amazing records one after another and almost never disappoint with a less than stellar release. "Crappy Clubs And Smelly Pubs" continues the trend with thirteen blazing tracks of nearly flawless street punk. It's been said that this LP isn't as catchy as "Backing The Longshot". Granted, the new album has the Reducers going way back to their roots, which might not sit well with the melody hungry kids. Sure the sound is a little more abrasive, but the same unmistakable energy and raw passion are still very evident. Once again the bass guitar, the drums and the guitars are all played in perfect tandem creating an aggressive street punk sound suitable to raise pints to. The lyrics deal with teen bopper pop ("Pop Star"), drinking ("Empty Bottles"), friendships ("Ole", "Wide Eyed Kids"), punk rock ("Our Noise") and blue collar social issues ("No Control"). The sing-along choruses and football (soccer) like anthems are also present. Hell, one of the songs is a re-written football anthem sang the world over ("Ole"). I remember The Bouncing Souls doing a slightly different version of that same football anthem a while back and it being quite a hit at their shows. Anyways, back to "Crappy Clubs And Smelly Pubs". It's basically the same formula that made "Backing The Longshot" such a hit with the kids, but with a little more anger and intensity. Anyone familiar with street punk, Oi, drunkpunk and such will find "Crappy Clubs And Smelly Pubs" an attractive listen.
TKO Records 4104 24th Street #103 San Francisco, CA 94114
http://www.tkorecords.com |
