Caroline & The Treats – Become Undone
Similar artists: The Yum Yums, The Dahlmanns, Baby Shakes, The Donnas
Genre: Punk, Pop Punk
Maintaining a belief in the life-altering properties of rock n’ roll is like believing in Santa as an adult. It’s not easy, but it helps make your day just a little bit better. Caroline & The Treats certainly believe in rock n’ roll and in one of its greatest modern-day representatives, The Muffs.
Caroline & The Treats’s version of “Become Undone” belongs to “An International Tribute To The Muffs,” a cover album and gesture of respect toward one of pop music’s greatest unsung heroes.
Like covering Ramones songs, most people think that they can handle playing a song by The Muffs. After all, this is highly melodic pop-punk, seemingly not involving too much technical finesse. But like the Ramones’ music, there’s more than comes through on first listen.
Caroline & The Treats manage to retain the essential sweet and bitter flavour of Kim Shattuck’s songwriting, the bubbly but tough vocals, and the unwavering commitment to powerfully sticky melodies. It’s a helluva tribute to a hell of a band from a hell of a good Norwegian outfit.
Crasher – Static
Similar artists: IDLES, shame, Viagra Boys, Protomartyr, Fontaines D.C.
Genre: Post-PunkPost RockGarage Rock
How angry can young guys get before the law has to intervene? And has the world any reason to fear young males getting over-enthusiastic while chest-thumping to the beat of their sadness? Well, therapy can’t and shouldn’t solve everything.
Most people will grow up angry and unsatisfied. The world doesn’t offer them many reasons to feel otherwise. And, after all, isn’t all of the injustice and cruelty of the world enough to provoke such reactions?
Yes, yes, once young men get together and share in a communal ritual of violent outbursts, bad things tend to happen to their neighbours. But how to stop that?
Get them playing in bands. Crasher’s “Static” is punk-rock built from scratching at the walls of dissatisfaction for years and years. But it’s a positive outcome and a mighty believable sound caught on tape. Who knows what these people would be doing if they weren’t focused on art? Better slam your fists into an electric guitar and scream into a microphone than take that energy into the streets with you.
