As advertised, this sounds like a cross between Face To Face and NOFX, but with randomly on/off key vocals—that is to say, like something i was sick of at least ten years ago. However, things being what they are in this day and age, i’m not sure if this means that i’m like, really really sick of it, or if i’m glad to see it making a comeback. One thing that i do know for sure is that “Auburn, AL” continues the not-great Wisconsin quasi-pop punk tradition of “completely obscure love songs named after geographic locales that mean absolutely nothing to anyone who was not a principal participant in the relationship” that was started with Alligator Gun’s “Delaware.” Boy, next thing you’ll tell me that kids want XXL t-shirts instead of mediums again. BEST SONG: “Carry On” BEST SONG TITLE: I’ll get back to you on this, but, God help me, i think it’s “Skate” FANASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: When i put this CD in my computer, iTunes® performed a Gracenote CDDB® database search on it, and turned up two matches: “Culture and Shit” by The Gusto, and “Ska Boodaliedoo” by The Chasers. I could not replicate this error from other machines. Also, the band’s name is misspelled “The Gutso” on their press sheet, which is, when all’s said and done, a much better name.
–norb (Crustacean)