Holy the Bop Apocalypse

Are the Chargers Street Gang the best thing to happen to Ohio punk rock since the New Bomb Turks? Well, if they're not, they're close enough to satisfy anyone looking for a good, strong dose of the loud, the fast, and the manic. Suggesting some unholy union between the Pagans, the Nation of Ulysses, the Stooges, and Rocket From the Crypt (the latter mainly due to the presence of a sloppy but emphatic horn section on a few cuts, though touring with RFTC may also have something to do with it), the Chargers Street Gang are a high-energy explosion of fractured guitar lines, bashed-out rhythms, and garage-raunch vocals, all sounding vivid enough to spill beer on your shoes and slap a sticker on the back of your jacket. Even the relatively calm tunes (the Stonesy "Amazing Disgrace" and "Every Light on Euclid," about a really annoying run of stop lights) sound sweaty and emphatic as all get out, and the rest of the time these guys shift into overdrive and steer with their knees as they roar into the red line without a thought of stopping. In short, this thing rocks. Kudos to Tim Kerr for getting the band's full-on energy onto plastic with such efficiency and the Chargers Street Gang for proving there is still something new, wild, and crazed under the punk rock sun. Points added for the cool Kiss rip during the closing tune, "S****y Song."