CD REVIEWS
Reviews by Jaime Pina and William O
Adolescents - Caesar Salad Days
Vinyl Review by Jaime Pina
The Adolescents return with another new release celebrating the band’s past and the memory of their fallen bass player Steve Soto. Their previous release was made up of covers by bands the Adolescents liked and this record consists of covers of their own material, many of them co written by Soto.
The songs span the Adolescents long career while carefully not revisiting any songs from the legendary “Blue” album that served as their debut disc or Welcome To Reality single. A lot of the tunes you will be familiar with from releases like Balboa Fun Zone, Brats In Battalions and
the O.C. Confidential reunion record but some of the songs are from obscure sources that are no longer available. “All of the songs are rerecorded,” says Adolescents singer and the sole original member in this lineup Tony Reflex. “Most of them are from records that are out-of print or difficult to find. Many of them were written by Steve.” The current band has carved out their own sound and what was the signature sound of the band with the Agnew brothers on guitars is no longer referenced. The band sounds strong and the standout member is Mike Cambra on drums. His playing is solid and propels the band to new heights. With two albums of covers being released back-to-back I asked Tony if the band was working on originals for a new release. “We have an album’s worth of material that we are currently learning.” This new album also marks a return to Frontier Records, the label run by Lisa Fancher who released the “Blue” album. How did this come to pass? “I sent Lisa an email,” he answers matter-of-factly. “She put out our album La Vendetta about five years ago so it made sense to do the record with her.”
The cover features art by Paul Kostabi and comes with a download slip.
The Furys - “New Wave Hit Parade”
Single Review By: William O
The Furys are one of Southern California’s first New Wave/Punk/Powerpop bands! The group’s first single was released in 1977 (“Hey Ma” b/w “Jim Stark Dark”), and 1978’s “Say Goodbye to the Black Sheep” was an international success, garnering extensive airplay, press, and live performances. According to founding member and lead vocalist Jeff Wolfe, “The Furys formed in 1977 as a reaction to the dreadful noise that was on the radio at that time.” 1979 saw the release of the “Moving Target” / “We Talk We Dance” single which elicited substantial critical response. The Furys released a five-song mini album entitled “Indoor/Outdoor” in 1987. Recorded at EMI/America studio in Hollywood, “Indoor/Outdoor” had an excellent sales run, huge radio response, and heavy press coverage. The band’s new singles (“New Wave Girl” and “Action Reaction”) were released in the second week of September 2021. These songs are the first new material issued by the band since 2015’s “The Sound of the Furys” CD. Now the band is back with a new singles collection titled “New Wave Hit Parade” which encompasses all three of the group’s vinyl singles from 1977-1979 as well as The Furys 1987 mini-album “Indoor/Outdoor”. Also included is The Furys 2016 digital single “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”. This is the first-ever digital release of the vinyl records. Says Jeff Wolfe, “After numerous multi-generational requests, The Furys have been reformed to continue their campaign for world domination.” The musical direction of The Furys was, is, and always will be melodic poetry blended with powerful music. In conjunction with “New Wave Hit Parade” and upcoming releases of new material, The Furys will be performing live in Autumn 2023. Long-standing members, Jeff Wolfe and Dave Lewty will be joined by guitarists Cliff Roman (The Weirdos), Jeff Jourard (The Motels) and Ray Herron (The Sloths) on drums.
Kim Salmon And The Surrealists - Rantings From The Book Of Swamp
Vinyl Review by Jaime Pina
There are a lot of different types of musical approaches taken by this band on this record. According to the notes from the label these songs were recorded live with the band improvising the tunes from sketches and ideas each member had brought to the table. There is dialogue between songs and the first track certainly sounds “swampy”. On the other hand, Le Party Girl sounds like clackity punk jazz that would fit in right next to the first Richard Hell And The Voidoids record. On Incantation it takes them a few bars to get started and find a groove and I’m glad they left that bit in. This is down and dirty improv and that’s how I want it. On The Dark Age Revival they work up from a sinister bass line with wah-wah guitar and pounding beats. Personally I enjoy improvised music if it’s done right and these guys know how to find grooves and keep things interesting. Certain parts of the recording recall vibes from The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, The Dream Syndicate and the previously mentioned Voidoids. But this band has its own sound and the jams here all work well. This is a double vinyl release in a gatefold sleeve.
The Victims - Girls Don’t Go For Punks
7” Vinyl Review By: Jaime Pina
This amazing old school PUNK ROCK single is by a band originally from Perth, Australia and they started in 1977 and were active for a couple of years releasing a single and an extended play and then they broke up. Their records were pressed in small numbers and are highly collectable. Over the years the band developed a cult following. Two members later went on to form The Hoodoo Gurus.
Several years and another lifetime later in 2014, original members Dave Flick (guitar, vocals) and James Baker (drums) were joined by Hard-Ons bass player Ray Ahn to cover some songs by The Victims in Perth. In 2017 they recorded some songs and in 2023 two songs were mixed by the legendary Ed Stasium and In The Red Records has released these songs as a 7’ vinyl record. The songs are very primitive and sound exactly what old school 70’s punk rock sounded like. Even though Stasium’s mix is pristine the songs are clunky and sound like they were put together by people who don’t sound like metal or whatever and don’t give a fuck. It’s pure id music and it is Punk Rock to the bone.
For record collector fans and especially fans of the Aussie scene this is like a supergroup made in Heaven. I asked Ray if the band has any more plans to work together since this new release is already getting fans hyped for more. “No more plans for more records but 2 more shows,” Ray says. “December 1 in Melbourne and December 2 in Sydney then that will be it.” And how exactly did this whole thing with the shows and recording come together? “I met James (drums) and Dave (guitar/vocals) in the early 80’s. They were in the Hoodoo Gurus,” Ray explains. “We became friends from being in the music scene. They knew that I had loved the Victims when I was at school. I was told that they have not kept in touch with original bass player Dave Cardwell. I was asked to play bass, as I knew the songs very well having been a big fan.” Ray is one of the lucky collectors owning the band’s original releases. “I bought the two Victims 7″ singles when I was at school in 1981. They were already rare back then. It is a big honor for me. A bit of a dream come true.”
But the connection also dips into Hard-Ons history according to Ray. “James Baker was our guest DJ and MC at the record launch for the Girl In The Sweater single by the Hard-Ons in 1986. We’d known each other for a few years already by that stage. In 1989 the Hard-ons
toured around Australia with the Hoodoo Gurus. We were very privileged to be asked. To this day, we are all friends. We certainly learnt a lot from James and Dave.” While us Americans will not get the chance to see this historic reunion live, the 7’ vinyl is available and comes in a proper paper sleeve.