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Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell (Deluxe)
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I groaned to myself. A mate of mine, who was about to drive us home, was reaching for his in-car CD wallet. Cue one miserable journey in the gloomy rain worsened by some terrible whiny vocals and flat guitar riffs coming from the stereo. Beats pecking at my head, irritating me, daring me to scream out "ENOUGH! HOW CAN YOU LISTEN TO THIS SHIT!" and toss the disc out into the ever-mirky Sankey Canal. Hmmm... plan of action. A-ha! "Hang on a sec, I've just bought this, buddy. Let's give it a listen." To my delight, he agreed, and so I grabbed my newest addition to my record collection, hastily shoving the round slice of spent wages into the CD slot.

Only five seconds in and I'm being bombarded with laughter, accompanied by "what the FUCK have you bought this piece of shit for! It sounds just like Franz Ferdinand!" Looking down at the case in my hands, I was struggling to remember just why I bought the new Dead 60s album in the first place. My friend was right. The chances are this will be far too close to the recent early `80s revival for comfort. All the indie bumboys will be touting this as the next big thing, and I'd just bought into it. The sticker on the front of the album further backed up my fears as I read praise from NME, Esquire, Mojo and Uncut. I stared out the window and prayed to the God of traffic lights to help end my journey sooner.

Back in my room, the record caught my eye from my desk. I was unsure, but I did remember a bass line that reminded me of "Whatever happened To?" by the Buzzcocks. That alone was worth giving it another shot. Besides, the weather's terrible. I laughed as the first five seconds from "Riot Radio" came on, reminding me of Franz once again. Keep an open mind, I had to tell myself. Sure enough, within thirty seconds I was awarded with a catchy chorus and within a minute I was tapping my feet and singing along. The Buzzcocks-esque moment turned out to be the second track, "A Different Age." That, too, was pretty decent. As was the rest of the album. More on that in one paragraph...

...If you're like me, you're convinced that the recent indie explosion/early `80s revival was purely accidental. It seems more like the natural "evolution" from early `90s Britpop and today's big-hitters such as Franz, the Killers, the Ordinary Boys (who I could have sworn were a Jam tribute band when I heard them) aren't imitators by choice; the similarity is actually coincidental, not intended. This is where the Dead 60s seem different to me. They seem to wear their influences on their sleeve and play music they enjoy, rather than trying to invent something new based on the music they grew up with. Which, by the way, judging by this album, is the Clash, the Specials and Madness. Those three are a fairly safe assumption, in my eyes. Of course there are others, but those three are all you need to know. Don't forget to add in the spooky sound effects, and you have the Dead 60s.

Back to my bedroom. With the rain still lashing at my window, I was feeling quite spooked. I just couldn't help it. The album is quite spooky. Just check out "Ghost Faced Killer" to see what I mean. It's also funky (see "Loaded Gun"). Other words that sprang to mind were "dub" ("Soul Survivor"), "desolate" ("Train to Nowhere"), and "skank" (the excellent "You're Not the Law"). Finally, the one way I could sum it up was "Indie Disco." This album would be absolutely perfect in the smoky, dingy underground discos of Liverpool's indie scene. However, you have to remember what bands are also perfect in that scene, and you end up thinking of the previously mentioned influentials. This, my friends, is in no way superior to anything that's come before it. It's an enjoyable effort and one I can approve quite readily, but it's hard to heartily recommend. Essentially, there are so many albums you should buy before this.



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    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 27, 2005 at 4:11 PM (EST)

    I like "Ghostfaced Killer" a lot I must say. Some of the songs on this are pretty good.

    But then again I'm English, so I MUST listen to shitty music, right?

    Joe

    Posted by Cos on 2005-11-12 02:10:03

    I think its hysterical that a band that plays ska is being flogged to hipsters who can't get enough of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. The single sounds just like the early Specials, the only other song I've heard (You're Not The Law) sounds like later "Ghost Town" Specials.

    I don't necessarily mind--its not bad music--but its just funny that kids that wouldn't be caught dead at a Slackers show or wearing a Rancid shirt would rock to a band that sounds like a rip-off of them. But then, hipsters will listen to ANYTHING if they think its cool enough, especially if they're English.

    --Cos

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 11, 2005 at 9:18 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Yeah, these guys suck. I saw 'em a week or two ago opening for Social D. They sound sort of like Franz Ferdinand with a little bit of The Coral, maybe...their music was mediocre, as is everything that comes from Great Britain, but what really struck me about them was their stage presence. Their guitarists and bassists all had that stiff, staccato, constipated, indie rock posturing down to a tee. It got even better when their second guitarist took over keyboard duties, and kept doing this really flamboyant thing where he'd play a chord and then release it really quickly and sort of dangle his hands over the keys. What a pack of cigarettes.

    Posted by ghostmonkey on 2005-11-10 14:28:07

    i hate this band. they have a song on Burnout 4 (Riot on the Radio or some shit) and it always seems to be playing when i play. shits putting me off. skanky scouse clash wanabees - take yr ben shermans and fuck off back from hence you came, vile copyists.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 7, 2005 at 3:45 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    oh dude, remember that one band the clash. they totally rocked.

    Posted by vocalyouth on 2005-11-07 02:03:25

    I actually thought that this was some sort of like... lost old Joe Strummer tapes put out under the guise of "The Dead 60s" and they just hired some young kids to make the video.

    Oops! I'll probably like this though, not from Sony though. Soulseek, bring me the rock and roll.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 7, 2005 at 1:48 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Fuck what the hype says, listen to whatever you want.

    -Not-To-Regret

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 9:26 PM (EST)

    What a terrible band. Seriously...the ghost of Joe Strummer says he wants his sound back.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 6:09 PM (EST)

    "When I saw this band live, I wore a Clash T-shirt. Every time the singer would look around the audience and do his rockstar looks to people,. he would get really bummed out every time he saw me and my shirt.

    -Scott"

    i was at the cambridge room that night too and i was bored out of my mind. worst $.92 i ever spent.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 3:39 PM (EST)

    When I saw this band live, I wore a Clash T-shirt. Every time the singer would look around the audience and do his rockstar looks to people,. he would get really bummed out every time he saw me and my shirt.

    -Scott

    Wow, get over yourself dude.

    Posted by thirtyseconds on 2005-11-06 14:35:56

    Yeah, it's the one with the Red Cover. x

    Posted by Crookedsuperhero on 2005-11-06 12:12:02
    My Score:

    Is this the same as the one with red cover?

    Anyhow, i bought the one with the red, and it was shockingly lame. really, the songs sounded the same, and i can't imagine a situation where i end up listening to it again.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 12:00 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    great new vintage sound

    Posted by maverick on 2005-11-06 11:58:05

    When I saw this band live, I wore a Clash T-shirt. Every time the singer would look around the audience and do his rockstar looks to people,. he would get really bummed out every time he saw me and my shirt.

    -Scott

    Posted by shindo on 2005-11-06 11:19:43
    My Score:

    This is alright. Fuzzy's right though, the ska stuff is mostly superficial. There's not a lot of depth to it. It's like window dressing over what's mostly typical British rock stuff.

    -adam

    Posted by pasha on 2005-11-06 10:45:50
    My Score:

    pretty good cd, but way overrated by the press.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 5:27 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    overrated by press and you believe the hype

    Posted by ClicheMyHeart on 2005-11-06 02:24:32

    ive heard only one song and i dont really remember it. but the 60s were a fun time, too bad i wasn't born yet or i would be a burned out hippy living in my mom's basement. I guess we can all dream.

    Revolution (4/12/06)

    Posted by etwiels88 on 2005-11-06 01:46:36

    Being on Sony = -2.5 stars

    Posted by psychoos231 on 2005-11-06 01:35:12
    My Score:

    I enjoyed the review, good work sir

    Posted by Fuzzy on 2005-11-06 01:08:48

    I saw these guys at the Red Devil Lounge in SF, and they were okay, but I like my ska dance rhythm, not ska mixed with new wave. It's a little weird.

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