U.S. Bombs
We Are The Problem
Sailor’s Grave
Duane Peters wants so badly to be Joe Strummer, hell, he even named his son Clash Peters. No matter how many 1977-Brit-punk-sounding songs his band U.S. Bombs kick out they will never be The Clash. Period.
Still, that’s not to say that this former pro skateboarder hasn’t made some good old fashioned punk rock over the years. His band’s latest effort We Are The Problem can rub shoulders with all the other American bands obsessed with the golden era of punk, but that doesn’t make it stand above the rest as anything outstanding.
There are standout moments, “Do It Again” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong” being a couple prime examples of great classic four-chord fun, but this album strikes hardest when it branches into unexplored territory like the jitterbug rockabilly bop of “Heartbreak Motel” and the folk-punk, harmonica-heavy “Guns of the West.” When U.S. Bombs stop trying to be an important band, they inadvertently become one.
U.S. Bombs: http://www.us-bombs.com
