Reviews
Lead Pill
Now Wave online zine
If you’re bummed beyond consolation because you’re 26 and your mom said you should move out or at least get a job, and your little brother’s super-hot friend Katie caught you boppin’ your baloney to the new Britney video, and you’ve pissed all over the kitchen floor three times since last week, and that girl you’ve wanted since 10th grade just married a smarmy Republican banker named Stu, and your dad locked the medicine cabinet so you can’t have at his OxyContin stash anymore, and you can’t afford to fix your broke-down piece-of-shit car that you wrecked six months ago en route to Pappy’s House of Porn, and some ballcap wearing asswipe stole your Sex Pistols discs out of your cousin’s van , and that big-ass bottle of JD last night did nothing but give you the mother of all hangovers, then what you really need is some old-fashioned punk rock. Here it is brother: ultra-strength sonic catharsis in the form of The Observers’ terrific debut release. Invite over all your unbalanced anti-social pals, crank the turntable volume knob, and plot your revenge against society!
This record rocks because it’s totally unlike the typical revived “old school punk” you hear all the time these days from bands that sound more like groveling tribute acts than actual relevant purveyors of the digable Now Groove. It’s refreshing in the same way that the unexpected presence of your fun-loving ex-con uncle would be at a usually dull family gathering. It’s punk all right, but punk with a jazzy, slightly fucked-up twist. No wannabe Clash action or third-rate Dead Boys homage here. Just when a song starts to sound predictable, it bursts into mini freakout mode, briefly falling into free form chaos a la the Stooges. These dudes manage to make the familiar miscreant boogie style sound as “original” as it can possibly get. It’s noisy & amateurish in a good way (note the cruddy, tinny, bargain basement production, which somehow befits these four songs), and it’s melodic without being “poppy”. Lotsa bounce and spunk prevail. The monotone-ish speak-sing vocals, rippin’ staccato bass lines, and tuneful shout-along punk style give this record a certain, uh, early 80s vibe. If I were held at gunpoint and forced to draw a comparison, I’d say this reminds me of early Youth Brigade…or maybe The Bodies if you need a contemporary point of reference. But even those comparisons aren’t quite fair, for The Observers have taken the old blueprint and “made it their own” (Rockwriter cliché #17 strikes again; bring me another Black Russian pronto!). And they’ve written some cool songs to boot! The almost-anthemic title track is sure to make it on lots of punk rockers’ “best of 2004” mixed CDs, and the other three numbers are first rate as well. Top-notch four-song EPs are a rarity in this age of the filler-laden 20-song CD-R.
Now is where I’m supposed to say, “Great debut EP…I can’t wait for the full-length!” But every time I say that, the LP in question ends up disappointing me. So let’s leave the expectation-raising hyperbole to the professionals…and just enjoy one hell of a 7″!
Razorcake issue #21
Eighty’s-tingled punk rock with smat lyrics and some well-placed cynicism. The line “So I sold my soul just to save some face in front of the fashion police / Life is some much better now that I found beige,” from “Normally Normal” was brilliant. (Jimmy Alvardo) (Super Secret)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #253
I saw these guys a while back open up for (of all people) Menace. The assembled unwashed (who weren’t fighting outside) seemed thoughly unimpressed thoughI thought they were pretty good, like JFA with a few mid-tempo stompers thrown in. Needless to saythey werethe best bandof the evening and almost made up for not going to see Beulah that night…Four snotty tracks, young, old school from Portland…good. (AD) (Super Secret)
So What’s Left Now
Maximum Rocknroll issue #258
“I’m sure everyone who’s heard this LP has a completely different interpretation of who and what they sound like, but I guarantee you that we all agree on one thing: what we have here is something very special. To say that I believe that this is one of the best punk records ever to be recorded is not overstepping the mark. Any band that can inject the sharp poke-in-the-eye brashness of WIRE, the driving melody-with-a-twist of the Adverts, the heavy atmosphere of The Fits (to a lesser extent), The False Prophets, and even add some of the brooding twang of The Wipers, while still sounding original deserves every friggen accolade you can throw at them. If you went completely gaga over No Hope For The Kids then this will tickle you absolutely silly. Album of the year. Unless a certain band from Denmark makes the deadline, I can’t see anything knocking this off. I send my love to Portland for yet another punk rock treasure.” (SD)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #261
Alright, its time to come clean. The very first time I heard their full-length I skimmed through a few tracks and thought they were decent, but wondering why they were getting all the hype. A short time later I went back and carefully listened to the album in its entirety and sat there stunned that I missed the brilliance it had to offer on the first spin around. Over the last year I have seen this band draw Comparisons from such noted as YOUTH BRIGADE, WARSAW, WIPERS, and TSOL. If you took these comparisons and threw them in a blender, and added a dash of originality and an edge of dark moodiness, you would be close to capturing how truly awesome the Observers LP is. Besides, “Symbols, Slogans, Lies” has to be the catchiest song of the year. This is truly the perfect music to pogo dance around your room to on those lonely weekend nights. (RC)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #261
An amazing band with a singer who at times sounds like MINOR THREAT-era Ian McKaye, and at others like early 7 SECONDS-era Kevin Seconds. There really isn’t anymore out there these days doing the sing-songy 80’s hardcore thing. It really brings me back. The music is trashy, thashy garage rock that constrasts nicely with the vocals. Everytime I catch one of these songs playing somewhere, my ears perk up. I love the sound. (CK)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #261
This records starts off with a melancholy guitar intro, a brief, arpeggiated affair that eventually gives way to one of the finer records in recent memory. It is a great mood setter; mid-tempo but still itchy, a simple few notes that hit the angsty rock ‘n’ roll that awaits. In the pages of this very fanzine, this band has been compared to bands as disparate at the WIPERS, ADVERTS, AGENT ORANGE, 7 SECONDS, NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS, NEWTOWN NEUROTICS, MINOR THREAT, and BUZZCOCKS. Pretty incredible nods, given that the OBSERVERS essentially run in garage circles. It’s not false advertising, exactly, sort of more like a punk rock attempt to find 101 adjectives for “fucking great.” In any case, these bands comparisons give you an idea, but they certainly don’t tell the whole story. All I really have to add to the praise at this point is to remind you that I think So What’s Left Now is the best long-player of the year, as it’s crossed that nebulous but distinct divide between a good punk record that’s listened to a few times and filed away, and a lifer. (GN)
Walk Alone
Maximum Rocknroll issue #274
I think without hesitation that the Observers are as good as any classic punk band you can list off. I think they are probably the best band of the last twenty years, I mean seriously. So many conversations have been had about the amazing music that is being created in the context of the DIY punk scene now, it’s a time I think will be looked back on with jealous wonder, and the Observers are the best. Watching them play the zillion times I saw them over the past couple of years I was always amazed that no one showed up; I know it’s different in Portland, but damn, one of the best bands ever should have a legion of devoted, tireless fans at all shows. Whenever I dragged people to see them play they would be blown away because how could you not be? I think of all the people that go see fucking MTV emo bands and dry hump retread thrash and wonder, what is wrong with the world that the Observers didn’t sell out the Fillmore every night? I mean I guess that would piss me off too, but hey, I am contradictory like that. But fuck, this record is so rad. The song “Walk Alone” is like a move, like railroad tracks and all night coffee conversations about nothing and everything. Seriously. An anthemic classic from a classic band. (LG)
Razorcake#26
For all you pining for the “good old days” and that there’s nothing out there that’s going to dethrone the past, that they wish they could go into the wayback machine to 1977 or 1982 or whatever, you can experience that type of glory in 2005 with the OBSERVERS. They tour like motherfuckers, don’t sound quite like any other band out there, are explosive both on record and live, and you can get in on the ground floor of their musical holocaust (but in a good way, you know), right here, right now. (Just saw them. There were thirty people there, going nuts.) Don’t miss out by staring at a big, sponsored-by-corporations stages and make dildoey, ignorant statements like, “There’s no good punk anymore.” You’ll be kicking yourself in a couple years if you don’t even give The Observers a chance. Here are three more excellent songs by a band that deserves any and all the success coming their way. –Todd (Jonny Cat)
Razorcake#26
Amazing. I’ve yet to hear a misstep from this band. Their music is hard to describe, in that they don’t really sounds like anybody else. You can pick out bits and pieces of their influences, but it would really be a disservice to say, “They sound like such and such band.” Driving, intense, brooding, and wholly unique. This recording is a bit more raw than on their full-length, but I actually prefer it that way. The rawness suits them well and I think it makes them sound more cohesive, wheras the LP sounds a little isolated. Regardless, the Observers are one of the best bands going right now and these are three more reasons own a record player. Josh ( Jonny Cat)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #274
What can I say, this band is really that good. I mad it to PDX to see their last show, and it was amazing-hundereds of kids singing along to every word, stage diving off every available surface, mobbing the singer before the set was through. Maybe this band had another great record in ‘em, but I’m glad to remember them by the song “Walk Alone” and by that last show. Sigh. (GN)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #274
The best song of the best band of the year is on this EP. “Walk Alone” is at once timeless and deeply tied to the of troubles we find ourselves facing now. Brilliant. I am going to miss this band so much. (AA)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #274
That song is as good as any punk song ever written. They will be sorely missed. (TB)
Maximum Rocknroll issue #274
Infectious! I am all about this stuff. Amazing punk, great melodies that will get you and never let go. You just can’t deny it. This record is good. (MS)
Where I Stay / Manipulator
Maximum Rocknroll issue #271
This sadly posthumous release shows our Portland friends in top form, with their signature talking/crooning lead vocals, “whoa-oh” back-ups, jaggedy guitar riffs, and driving rhythm section. The OBSERVERS lend themselves to well to the 7” format. The A side is just as good as anything on their fabulous LP, thoughnot as good as their absolutely-must-have previous single, Walk Alone. The B side, a political song (!), is a throwaway track, but a throwaway track from the Observers is still an above-average punk song. (PC)