A four-way split. The Workin’ Stiffs: Charge out of the gate, turn on volume knobs to the far right, stick the needle in the red, and don’t look back to who’s being charred by their afterburner. Quite possibly one of their fastest, dead-on songs to date. Glad to hear them full speed and “My Ghetto” does what few bands can: erases the boundary between oi and punk. Excellent. The Bodies: Perhaps it’s the so-so recording and low fidelity, but I like the Bodies when they’re full of grit and pebbles and pops. Kinda like seeing them live, with beer soaking all nearby carpets and sweat and puke mingling on their shirts as they try to play. “Wolfboy” is a fun song. The Wretched Ones: Mid tempo, a tad repetitive, and it sounds a little too self-helpy for my liking (such as, “They need to step back, stop and smell the roses”). When I’m in the mood, I tend to reach for older Wretched Ones. They haven’t been doing it for me lately. The Templars: I don’t mind pride in one’s country half as much as the questionable ability for the flat-toned backup vocalist to harmonize over a classic rock riff. Dangerously close to folk oi. Yipes.
–todd (Radio)