The Beltones
Cheap Trinkets
TKO
The Beltones, The Beltones, The Beltones… whatever shall I do with you? By the crunching of peanuts and corn in my teeth, I knew I’d taken a big bite of a turd sandwich with this one.
Here it is, 2002, and bands are still clamoring out the same boring Clash rip-off punk rock garbage they were 25 years ago. The thing that amazes me is that bands like The Beltones have such a decent size following. I must admit that The Beltones write some very catchy guitar hooks and peppy drum beats… it’s true. The problem, though, lies with the singer of this band, a man by the name of Bill McFadden. He sounds like a cross between Dickey Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker days) during his throatiest times… now imagine both of those guys trying to go number two, and you have the vocal stylings of Bill McFadden.
Anyway, I’m guessing that fans of Lookout! Records, Fat Wreck Chords, Epitaph Records, and the other scores of sound alike labels will probably enjoy Cheap Trinkets the entire way through. This thing is 100% sneering, snotty, pop punk grit that will make the mohawks raise their brews up in the air in honor of a better time… 1977! Wake me up when this one’s over… zzzzzz….
TKO Records: http://www.tkorecords.com
