Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

The first thing that jumps out at ya - and it's cliché but it's Punk Rock without the piss and vinegar so take it for what it's worth, a mischievous grin or sour puss, your call, but ain't nobody gonna be misled to thinking these guys are the razor and stud variety - are the verses and vocals, with the big melodies that add the personified Pop touch to the louder, faster extremes; And these would owe to "Johnny Love's" charming female friendly voice and sudden spurts of rage around the wrist and fingers; We might think to thank Blink 182, Green Day of course, The Offspring, or The Vandals types for sweetening the palate all those years ago when a snarl and sneer, a fist and beer were yet replaced by shorts and the shiny white smiles… okay, but enough, "We Have Your Daughter" falls smack dab in the center of yer sun and funnin' faves, in spite of the band's Long Island locale. Making tracks and tacking on a little Soul of the Bouncing variety, New Found Glory with little deviation from the norm, 5 Cents are fun to listen to, shout/sing along, screw your girlfriend to, remember what it was like to follow Fat Mike and the guys way back in the then and there, throw around a few bad words… Just maybe not all in the same thought. 

Yeah, it's clichéd, no getting around it, I mean, this is the lighter side of Punk, catchier, more colorful… I think they call it commercial, but then I don't listen to the radio and I doubt I'd lose my shirt not expecting them to spin "Broken Frames" or "Things Ain't Fine," which is like Rocket From the Crypt on fucking meth-amphetamines, I mean, whoa! "Village Idiots" pulls a page right out of the 'Stitches/Social D book that somehow escapes the preceding six with a lively chord progression that accelerates slightly before returning to zero in its last seconds of survival. "Dropout" could be the obvious breakthrough single if it were another minute longer and the singer took an elbow in the ribs and Johnny really let one go; So as it stands, "Pisshead" gets the job done quite admirably with its basic Rock rate, full sized "Yeah, ee, Yeah, ah's" and been there before quality that's served many a member before 'em… don't quite know how we'll sidestep the title however - so let's go with Village Idiots and it's "bored of the same routine… you won't bring me down…" outpouring that musically breaks off into a forty second red line riot from La Cienega to Sunset and back again; In truth there's any one of a number of tunes that are commercially accessible and along the way there's heavy riffing and quick change tempos, lyrically grown but occasionally giddy, and then there's a tune like "Johnny" that for all the Less Than Jakes and Brigade types, you've got the one or two tracks that stamp 5 Cent Deposit's singular signature right on the sorry ass of stagnation. 

So buy their record if not so they can afford a little gas to move their converted school bus from town to town but think of poor little innocent Vanessa taken from her home and with what these guys can afford, their ransom demands are going to be through the roof!