US Bombs - We Are The Problem
People Like You 2006
US Bombs - We Are The ProblemJust some paces from Uncle Sam and the Soviet Bear, the punk stereotype lays, a grimey drunkard, in a puddle of sweat left by The Ramones, The Clash, any bands that's grace the leather jackets of loiterers outside Camden's Electric Ballroom. Though still breathing, the body's been in the same position for decades, a passer-by may assume in the process of rigor mortis. The US Bombs may have been paddling in punk waters before I even knew of its existence, but since then, no clues to who's the victor in the progression stakes. Due to punk's musical simplicity, it can rapidly become a victim to circumlacution. Contemporary bands, churning out '77 punk are similar to dogs who run in circles, their leads twisting tighter and tighter round themselves, until there's as much room for progression as there's lung space to breath.
Obviously I was not impressed with the US Bombs, despite their possible elder statesmen status. They've dropped from the sector where 'punx =drunx', singing about politics, being social outcasts, being pissed ('Hammered Again') and not forgetting, gooey, sticky, love:
"Look here baby...
I didn't cheat on you..
I was just doing some drugs with the boys..."
I wouldn't be so dismissive if their comments on any of the issues were remotely profound.
The bands's list of influences is just as generic as their music, and outlining what aspects of which bands are in which of their songs could result in reams. The title of Duane Peters as The Master of Disaster is a rudimentary facade, his vocals barely live up to his namesake. The gravel-in-the-washing-machine vocals are routine, about as distinctive in punk circles as a rat's tail in a shoebox of worms. The punk 'ballad' 'Tonight' is a limp sing-a-long, dastardly out of tune, it'd probably only evoke emotion in those who've drunk their body weight in cheap cider. Their songs just aren't as infectious as Rancid's nor vocally eccentric as One Man Army's.
I'm sure that with every street punk chorus, I'm hearing the efforts of a dedicated band, but if I required a dose of old school, I wouldn't be reaching for any albums released after the mid-80s. Re-hash and re-hash again but that's still a treadmill under your feet.
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pisala klinka od 17 godina... to je recenzija, bre!
