CH3

After some great releases in the early '80s on Posh Boy Records (collected on CD as The Skinhead Years), the Channel 3 boys tossed their punk roots aside for an ill-fated excursion into beer-soaked roots rock with their "Last Time I Drank..." album in the mid-'80s, then quickly sank without a trace. The band's main men, vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mike Magrann and guitarist/vocalist Kim Gardener return to the scene 20 years later with an album that side-steps their roots rock years and jumps right back into the punk fray. Though not as bitingly raw as their early years (it is 20 years later, after all), Magrann and Gardener do not embarrass themselves with lame re-writes of early glories. Instead, they play it like they mean it, knowing that they're a little bit older, but not sure if anyone is any wiser? Like a mixture of Agent Orange and the Clash, CH3 sets the guitars to blast and proceeds to shred your speakers with an onslaught of intelligent, well-written, and passionately played punk rock. "Best of Intentions," "Faith, Bourbon, Dignity," "The Fortune Is a Lie," and "Ready for Me" are the instant standouts, but after a handful of listens, this whole album earns its rightful place in your memory banks. Welcome back, boys. ~ Steve "Spaz" Schnee, Rovi