I needed some riffy rock, and I realized that while I'd liked Kick out the Jams, I'd never heard this one.
This is downright catchy at times, a lighter take on the breakneck relentlessness of their earlier stuff. It actually kind of works for me. It's built on a foundation of early rock and roll aesthetics, with plenty about teenagers, high school and lite rebellion. Heck, it starts and ends with two covers of 50's songs, by Little Richard and Chuck Berry, respectively, and The American Ruse is all but a parody of Summertime Blues. But it has enough of a sheen of metallic grime to keep it interesting. It strikes a careful balance: the songs aren't nasty enough to sound like they're trying to take a shit on the 50's aesthetic, but they're nasty enough to keep from being a tribute. Its a nonviolent kidnapping of the history of rock and roll, more The Buzzcocks than The Stooges, a grin and a gun to the head until the Stockholm sets in.
Right, the actual songs. Um, garage band jamminess, shouty, trebly, raw but tight. Its fun stuff, I liked it a lot more than I expected to 4.5/5
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