Five songs, ten inches, and nine wars: I guess the math checks out. “Fired for Partying” sounds like something from the Fiends’ 1984 We’ve Come for Your Beer album, and “Coke Machine” is kinda reminiscent of “Coffee Achievers” by 76% Uncertain, also from 1984. “Larry’s House,” meanwhile, sounds a bit like it’s off of TMA’s What’s for Dinner? album, released in… you guessed it… 1984. So while I’d like to say that the appeal of the party punk belched forth from these New York comic book stars is “timeless,” the truth of the matter is that it appears very much rooted in a specific time, and that time is very much 1984. After I mused on the matter some, that made perfect sense: The original hardcore scene brought all these angry, tormented loners (or, if not outright loners, people who didn’t have a shit-ton of friends) together in the early ’80s. Then, once we all were brought together—found our tribe, if you will—we didn’t really feel as angry any more; we mostly just wanted to hang out and party together. So, I really think the punk circa 1984 starts reflecting that socio-emotional shift (for better or for worse), and, whether they know it or not, that’s where these guys land in my pan-galactic musical taxonomy (and trust me, there are way worse years in which one could be stuck). I guess they should be good to go until somebody reinvents My War side two and fucks it all up again! BEST SONG & TITLE: I think I like “Coke Machine.” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: “NYC Tonight,” their GG Allin cover, used to be called “You’re Wrong, I’m Right.” –Rev. Nørb (Emergency Breakthru)