Punks Not Dad are elder statesmen of this thing we call "punk" and have decided to take the route of humour ("humor" to those to the west of here) in their attempt to ensure that they stay active and ward off the decrepitude often associated with old age. With band members including Joe Strimmer and Sid Life Crisis, one gets an immediate idea of what they're aiming to do–have a laugh.
The EP contains three studio tracks, all of which revolve around some sort of retail concept, whilst the final track is live and is a rehashing of Jeff Beck's "Hi Ho Silver Lining" titled "Hi Ho Silver Surfer" featuring a Ramones-esque "Hi Ho" intro.
Musically, this has a retro punk sound, just revved up to add a bit of speed to the songs. It's as much rock and roll as it is punk, but then, bands like the Sex Pistols were playing basic rock and roll chords/etc., so, nothing new here.
The opening track "Can't Get It Up" is loaded with innuendo and double entendres based around the purchase of a piece of furniture from a renowned Swedish retailer, and is okay once or twice but soon loses its limited appeal. It's not that I don't appreciate juvenile humour–it's just that it so often wears thin very quickly, I am aware that it's not worth investing too much time in repeated listens. "Welcome to the Credit Crunch" reminds me of a Bad Sam track from their demo, but here the humour has slightly more longevity, mocking those who have lived beyond their means on credit cards.
"Poundland" is the one track that has me laughing repeatedly. With many references that might be lost to those not living in the UK, it is jammed full of amusing lyrics that will prevent this EP from gathering dust in my collection.
Bringing up the rear is the aforementioned cover which is raucous (as live punk rock so often is) and occasionally funny, but is yet another song that probably won't get replayed that much.
Despite the fact that Punks Not Dad are not to be taken too seriously, this isn't likely to see them earning grand plaudits from the music world–although you can't fault the musicianship, the lyrics just don't cut it. However, it's worth tracking down for the one funny track, especially for those who are aware of the allure of the Poundland empire!