Review: Madcap

Madcap
““Songs on Tap””
(PDM Records)

Madcap is a perfect example of those guys who try so hard to be punk, but just missed the boat.  They do all the things you might expect of a punk band-bashing the government and MTV-but only graze the surface of the issues, failing miserably to capture the spirit of the movement.  Of course, all of that would be forgiven if they sounded good in their attempt.  Alas, neither Madcap’s lyrics nor their collective prowess with their instruments holds a candle to such bands as Youth Brigade, Good Riddance, or H2O-three acts doing what Madcap does several hundred times better.  The majority of the thirteen tracks on the CD are nothing more than an annoying, paint-by-the-numbers approach to punk music.  An example comes from “Church and State” where lead vocalist Alfredo croons in his monotone, “We don’t care for democracy (No!)-Cause we know it’s just hypocrisy-We don’t care about your government (No!)-We don’t care about your president”.  What exactly is he upset about?  What exactly is he rebelling against?  What exactly is his rhyme scheme?  Trouble is, he doesn’t know either-he probably saw it on a bumper sticker and thought it sounded cool.  It doesn’t.