Pearls Before Swine

Newcastle street punks Crashed Out are the north of England's answer to some of the great North American punk bands who have maintained a solid fan base over the decades by perfecting a sound and sticking with it. (the Ramones are the pinnacle, of course, but the Queers and the Descendents both come to mind as well.) As always, a clean, '70s-style punk sound at reasonable pre-hardcore tempos and featuring singable choruses and actual hooks (not to mention the occasional glam rocky guitar solo) predominates on Pearls Before Swine. The band even drags out a pair of old fan favorites, the Sham 69-style shout-along "One of the Boys" and the Crashed Out signature tune "The Jarrow Song" (also included as a multimedia video) in new versions to little ill effect. In fact, it says something for the consistency of the band's output over the years that it's hard to tell the difference between the older songs and new material like the sneering "Murder on Sunset Strip" and the crowd-pleasing anthem "Raise Ya Glasses."