I Might Have Failed History Because I Wrote These Instead Of Studying: Reviews Of New Releases By Local Bands Pt. 2

Disclaimer: Record reviews are a tricky business. It's one thing to enjoy music, but to, like, pick out what you like about it? That being said, if I review your thing and I didn't like something, don't feel too bad. My opinion doesn't matter all that much.

Toughskins - Rumble Stilts Skin - My Mind's Eye Records - 11 songs - Vinyl
There's a trope in comedy that I think is called "the rake gag." It takes its name from an episode of The Simpsons in which Sideshow Bob keeps stepping on two rakes and they keep hitting him in the face and it goes on and on and on. Essentially, what happens is, the joke is funny for a few seconds, then it loses its humor, then the pointlessness and the repetitiveness make it funny again, which was the whole point all along. Gosh, I hope I did a good job explaining that. Anyways, I think that could be a decent summary of this record. I think the Toughskins are a Sockeye side project. I don't think I've listened to Sockeye, but I know that their section on the CD shelves at My Mind's Eye describes them as "genius stupid," so hey, there ya go. To get back to the actual record at hand, it's basically a parody of Oi! (always with an exclamation point) bands. I certainly can't be mistaken as the song titles range from "Oi! Farm" to "Oi! Sweat Shirt" with "Oi! Yodeling Lessons" thrown in for good measure. (There's also songs called "Lifeless Billy," "Hippies vs. Skins," and "Rumble-Stilts-Skin," but those are the only ones that don't have "Oi!" in the title, I promise.) Basically this album is the musical equivalent of the rake gag. "Oi! With The Toughskins" is funny, you start to lose steam around "Date With Oi!," and then it becomes funny again at "Oingo Boingo Ain't Oi!" While this record didn't make too much of an impression on me at first, some of the songs, particularly "Hippies vs. Skins" and "Oingo Boingo Ain't Oi!" grew on me after hearing them on the radio. There's also a Sabbath cover, retitled "Killing Yourself To Oi!" To finish this review up, basically, it's a repetitive joke. But, it still is pretty funny at times. 3/5

Various Artists - Punk 45: Extermination Nights In The Sixth City - Soul Jazz Records - 18 songs - Vinyl, CD, download
This is the fourth, I think, installment in Soul Jazz's Punk 45 series. I liked this one because I didn't have to buy it, 'cause I already own all of the songs from various other albums. This is a pretty good overview of the Cleveland punk scene from 1975 to 1982. (I know those years 'cause they're in the subtitle.) It features all your favorite Cleveland bands like Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu, the electric eels, Mirrors etc., and also some recordings that are a bit more obscure/difficult to find. For example, the inclusion of Jazz Destroyers' "Love Meant To Die," previously only available on the Cleveland Confidential compilation, I think. It also has other great stuff like The Pagans (though I've never been all that fond of "Street Where Nobody Lives," I do enjoy "Dead End America" and "I Juvenile"), X___X (who had a compilation out themselves last year), and The Styrenes (who are credited under Poli Styrene Jass Band for "Drano In Your Veins" and Styrene Money for "Everything Near Me," both good songs). It also has some bands that are maybe a bit more obscure, like Pressler-Morgan and The Human Switchboard. The icing on the cake for me especially, and I'm having trouble deciding which I'm more enthused about, is the inclusion of "51%" by the Defnics and "Tele-K-Killing" by The Broncs, two criminally under-recognized Cleveland bands. Also out simultaneously is another Punk 45 compilation, covering the concurrent Akron scene. Maybe I'll review that one next month. Overall, pretty good compilation. Some more rarities (or things only otherwise released on things I can't afford) would have been nicer for me though. But for everyone else, yeah, buy this. 4.5/5

Obnox - Boogalou Reed - 12XU - 15 songs - Vinyl, download
Since this is something that's been said in almost every review of this album so far, I almost don't want to say it, but I have to, because it's true: this is the best Obnox album yet. It's very catchy and melodic, a perfect blend of punk and soul. Bim once more shows off his talent for puns with songs such as the title track and "Cynthia Piper At The Gates Of Dawn." My favorite tracks, however, are "Slaughter Culture" and "Too Punk Shakur," as well as the timely update of Neil Young's "Ohio." The first side is pretty much flawless, and the second side ain't bad either. This is an early contender for album of the year. 5/5

Are you a local-ish band? Do you have a record out? Email vaguelythreatening@gmail.com or send it directly to Observer headquarters at 14900 Detroit Ave. Suite 205, Lakewood, Ohio 44107, attention:John Kompier.