Var Thelin and Master P have a lot in common. They both live in the Dirty South, they both run successful independent record labels, and they’re both responsible for promoting and inspiring the music of their region; creating their own sound and look. A No Idea record is as easily recognizable as a No Limit record. Case in point, Ask Mark Twain, the newest record from No Idea’s answer to Silkk the Shocker, the Grabass Charlestons. This record is so Florida it should come with a beard and flip-flops. Thirteen songs of whiskey-soaked swamp punk that come out sounding like a less-Midwestern Modern Machines. They draw heavily from their Floridian blood: I hear a lot of Hot Water Music and Against Me! influence, and track two, “Atlanta Is a Cocaine Town” is a tip of the hat to their western neighbors, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb. There’s a lot of cool shit coming out of Florida these days, and the Grabass dudes are the top of the heap.
–ben (No Idea)