New Bomb Turks
Information Highway Revisited (Crypt) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
This Columbus, Ohio, quartet comes out snarling and never lets up over 15 tracks of high-octane punkabilly. “Information Highway Revisited” achieves a one-dimensional perfection on par with early Ramones and “Suffer”-era Bad Religion, with a roots-rock twist: the Turks meld their punk energy with the musicality of ’50s rockabilly and the attitude of late ’60s Detroit (Stooges, MC5). Eric Davidson, a terrific, maniacal shouter, packs wicked sucker-punch wit into hurtling alienation anthems (“I heard my parents/Yeah, I heard some priests/I heard the Bangles’ `All Over the Place’/All of my advice came with monotony”). Where numerous roots combos make the mistake of slavishly imitating their heroes, to the point where they sound like revivalists, the New Bomb Turks sound utterly of the moment. Too manic for even the new “alternative” mainstream, the Turks are the real deal for listeners who like their rock undiluted.
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Ratings: Excellent (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Good (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Fair (STAR)(STAR) Poor (STAR)
