Ok, first off, let's get the name dropping and automatically breeding comparisons out of the way, shall we? Marky Ramone is the drummer in case you were wondering which Ramone he was (and if you're asking yourself "What's a Ramone?" please stop reading right now for you are not fit to even lay eyes upon my writing). This disk was produced by Lars Frederiksen (of Rancid). So, since Marky attached his name let's just go and answer the obvious question, "Does it sound like the Ramones?"

A bit.

It's definitely some kind of snotty rock/slightly punk type thing, but uses more than three chords, so it's MUCH more complex than the Ramones. But it's not Mozart either. Lot's of repeated chorus on top of easy paint by numbers chord rock spliced with some easy paint by number, but tasty enough lead work in the expected places defines this as a decent rock album. Rock guitars, rock bass, rock drums. The singer barely passes for ragged and has a long way to go to qualify as supportable, but he'll do. The best attempt at mixing up the approach is felt in the sixties shuffle of "Don't Blame Me," complete with Happy Days sounding sax solo. The trade-off vocals are definitely a good dynamic. Too bad neither can really sing well.

If you were really looking for the soul of the Ramone's, the band shoots off the two chord "Don't Think," so if you close your eyes and think "Joey.." Also included for an extra smile is the Beatles classic "Nowhere Man" that is basically just a rocked up version with a nice small accapela break into the hit it hard ending.

Most songs clock in under the two minute mark so if you don't like this song, hold on here's another. It'll sound kinda like the last one, but sooner or later we'll hit one you like. Or maybe not. It's an honest try and it's most pretensious element lies in attaching a Ramone name to it. And when it's real, there's a lot of room for acceptance.