Record Reviews #2

Fevers, the
“Gaan Daar Waar de Meisjes Zijn”
Alien Snatch

If you ever listen to my radio show, you know I butcher foreign names. Hell, English is my first language and I butcher that. Strangely enough, this record is sung in English, but the title is in Dutch, on a German label, and the band is apparently from Minnesota. Go figure. Luckily, it doesn’t deter me from what a great record this is. This is the Fevers’ first record that came out in 2002. Translated, the title means, “To go there where the little girls are”. I’ve heard it enough to know my favorite songs. “C’Mon on my Baby” (is that a typo?), “Born to Be Your Baby”, “Girl After Girl” and “Ooo That Kiss”.
This is a great Power Pop record, on that super-thick, European vinyl us Americans just eat up. They’ve been getting comparisons to the Nerves, Teenage Head and the Real Kids. You can’t go wrong there.

Fevers, the
“Love Always Wins”
Alien Snatch

This record holds up well in the shadow of their great debut LP. I don’t think it’s as good; but it does have its strong points. My favorites are “Get Your Luvin”, “My Ly Ly”, and “Dance”.

Kidnappers
Neon Signs
Rip Off

When I first heard the “Spanish Girls” single on Zaxxon Virile Action, I went pretty apeshit. Just that song alone had me foaming at the mouth for their next record. Before the Kidnappers, the guitarist and drummer were in the Highschool Rockers- a band that made three 7inches- one on Alien Snatch, one on URU, and one being a split 7inch with the Dead City Rebels on Rockin’ Bones Records out of Italy.
The first full-length from these guys came out on Alien Snatch- a punkier sounding record than the new one which has a more power pop edge. It included covers by Teengenerate and Loli and the Chones (boy, what a calling for Rip Off!) We first learned that Rip Off was coming back with this record after a short hiatus. This record is slicker than a lot of past Rip Off releases. (Of course recording has become cheaper and easier these days.) “Talk to You”, “Trainticket” and “Goodbye” are all good, mid-tempo power pop tracks. Germany is really cranking them out. Keep it up.

La Peste
“Better Off Dead”
Rave Up

One of my favorite Boston bands, La Peste was a band that went through a couple different line-ups, and varied their sound. You hear early hardcore in tracks like “Lease on Life” and “Army of Apathy”, found on the ‘A Wicked Good Time’ compilation released back in 1982 on Boston’s Modern Method label (part of the still functioning Newbury Comics), and more recently collected on the ‘V.2.0’ on Smash Easy Records. But what really got everyone was “Better Off Dead”, from their first single, which ended up on Killed by Death #9, a Rhino Records ‘DIY’ compilation, and a couple others. But then you also hear some great power pop songs. This was a band that could go either way and pull it off.
We’ve seen several labels jumping on the La Peste bandwagon. First Matador, with their collection in 1996, then the young Smash Easy, and now Italy’s Rave Up is taking a shot at it. (Dionysus is said to be next.)
“Write Down Your Number” is an irresistibly great power pop song, and probably the best song on this collection that hasn’t been on any of their other anthologies. “TKO”, standing for Total Knock Out is another good pick, as well as “Blood”, “Too Many Nights” and “We’re in the Army Now”. This is an import worth getting.

Suspicions
S/T
Rip Off

This Seattle trio brings fun, 3-chord garage rock to the plate with catchy, pop melodies and charming female vocals. This ten-song LP contains the single “We’re All Wrong b/w Memory” that the band self-released in 2004 on their own Nerve Wracking label, as well as some brand-new stuff.
Act fast to get one of 200 on blue vinyl.
www.thesuspicions.com

As always, if you want to send your records for review, (most of the ones so far have been from my own collection), please send them here:

Out of Order Records
C/O Reviews
P.O. Box 72775
Davis, CA 95617

www.outoforderrecords.com