The Cheifs
“Holly-West Crisis”
(Dr. Strange Records)
Before you get all mad and say I’m not proofreading, I promise that’s the way they spell their name-go ahead, look at the little album cover there. See? Hey, nobody ever said punk rockers were smart. I used to be way into Dr. Strange, like senior year in high school, until I realized the good Doctor is living in the past. Way, way in the past. “Holly-West” is no exception: a collection of tracks by one of LA’s hip-in-the-underground-circa-1981-bands. The Cheifs play a blend of T.S.O.L. and Black Flag punk, cutting through their speedy tunes like they’re paying the meter on the cab waiting outside the studio. The highlight of the album is undoubtedly the footage from a live show in 1981-it’s good to see punk free from the antiseptic confines it finds itself in now. The Cheifs were cool when there was some real danger and life in the movement, and this album is worthy of a listen (well, a watch, really) for no other reason than that.
Brian Greenaway
