U.S. Roughnecks
“Twenty Dollars and Two Black Eyes”
(Hell Cat)
This is straight up greaser punk, with fast, throaty lyrics blurted out over simple progressions. Which, of course, means it’s fairly boring and extremely predicable. Most of the lyrics revolve around beating someone up, breaking something, or a combination of the two. Maybe there are people that that sort of thing appeals to, but I am sadly not one of them. And I bet you aren’t either. I bet you want compelling music that might surprise you now and then. “Twenty Dollars” won’t do that.
With only three chords at their disposal it’s amazing the Roughnecks actually were able to put together a full LP, and their ability to scratch together fourteen tracks is definitely commendable. All told, there’s an inherent flaw in an album that neither makes you think nor move your feet-what the hell are you going to do with it? There are plenty of gutter punks doing the exact same thing, only better, so waste your time here?
