Well, that settles it. I’m moving to Sweden. There have been so many bands that have tried to pull off the stripped-down approach of early L.A. punk rock and it usually just sounds boring and generic. With the Regulations, though, it’s so raw and so immediate and so inspired and so exciting… WHY CAN’T MORE BANDS PULL THIS OFF? I guess it just goes to show you that if you spend a little less time embracing the superficial aspects of ’77 punk rock, you can actually write a record blows away pretty much anything ever released. No, I’m not exaggerating; not only does this record sound like Jealous Again compared to some of the anemic shit that’s come out in the past ten years, it might as well be Jealous Again, period. I’ve said this before about bands like Career Suicide and Sweet JAP, but I think it holds even more true in the case of the Regulations: if you have any interest in punk rock at all, you will like this. Absolutely jaw-dropping.
–josh (Havoc)