The GC5
“Never Bet The Devil Your Head”
(Thick Records)
I love a good street punk album. So must a few other people, or Social Distortion and Rancid wouldn’t be as popular as they are. The GC5 obviously feel the same way. What I don’t love, though, are bands that sound uncannily like other bands. Not to say that these boys don’t rock out with their, well, you know; they most certainly do. But, I feel like I’ve heard this all before. Fast, gritty rhythms featuring the sly twang of a groovy rockabilly breakdown and gravelly vocals singing songs of social discontent. It’s all so Dropkick Bouncing Utters, and The Clash before that. I will admit that I feel this way because I was privy to the second wave of this 70’s British Punk revival, so take this review with a grain of salt. If I were hearing this sort of thing for the first time, I’d be pedaling my bike as fast as I could to my local record store. But, I haven’t been on Mars for the past 15 years, and I have little to no patience for derivative music, even if it is as good as this. Good, just not great.
