4 tracks of so cal punk.Our take: This new California band (I assume their from No Solution’s neck of the woods in Orange County) dials in the sound of classic SoCal and OC punk on this self-titled cassette. The rough production, breezy rhythms, and (most importantly) the thick surfer-dude drawl on the vocals all evoke the OC punk classics, not so much the Adolescents, but bands like Social Distortion, Channel 3, and the Crowd, whose styles were rooted more firmly in song-oriented 70s punk. If you like the White Stains EP that was our Record of the Week last week, this draws on similar influences, but removes any hardcore influence from the equation and zeroes in on a fully retro sound. Five catchy tracks, the standout being “P.N.B.,” whose lyrics seem to be about a journeyman NBA player with punk connections. It’s a unique topic for a song, but perhaps that’s what makes it stand out. I’m stoked this is arriving during springtime on the east coast, which means I can blast it with the windows down and pretend I’m cruising down one of the California highways they list in the first song.
