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Album Review

Strange Boys
Strange Boys and Girls Club In The Red

Article written by Ged M - Apr 28, 2009

Strange Boys: Strange Boys and Girls Club

This is pure 60s garage punk from the Nuggets stable, although it was written and performed this decade in Austin, Texas. It’s got a chaotic feel and a brattish charm; if they had been on the original Nuggets album they might have taken the place of the Standells or Mouse and the Traps – especially because Ryan Sambol’s nasal vocals, like Ronnie Weiss’s back in the 60s, sound like they’re borrowed directly from Dylan.

There’s a strange mix of slacker charm on songs like ‘Should Have Shot Paul’ (“popped the wrong Moptop”) and ‘Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up’; a bit of urban paranoia (‘They’re Building The Death Camps’); and some great driving punk: the grungy ‘MLKs’ and the adrenalised riffs of ‘Probation Blues’ really stand out. But they also seem to be a lot deeper than some of the snarling throwaway lines suggest, referencing self-help advice about addiction and abstinence. They’re clearly (grand)children of Nuggets, and these songs sound very familiar (a bag of Haribo for anyone who can suggest what inspired ‘To Tune A Tune Or Two’ as it’s driving me mental) but it provides a big wedge of retro-satisfaction.

Links:
http://www.intheredrecords.com/pages/strangeboys.html
http://www.myspace.com/thestrangeboys

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