Los Gusanos

s/t

(c)1998 Mayhem Records

Review by Vladimir Levin

Thanks to Mayhem for the CD

Los Gusanos, a New York band with Mayhem Records have recently returned from a tour in Germany, where they plyed their easy-going, south-of-the-border laced punk rock style. Perhaps this band belongs in the same general realm of alternative / punk rock as Bad Religion or Green Day. The band features C.J. Ward, formerly of the Ramones, though all of the songs on the CD are originals, and the band is definitely not any kind of Ramones clone.

The music of this band brings to mind driving across the wide-open spaces of the great U.S. mid-west. The melodies are simple, and harken to that sweet, adventurous attitude and innocence of rock-n-roll when it was shiny and brand new. The musicianship is very tight, the production excellent and with especially cool songs like "Blue Sky".

The drumming is fast and heavy on the hi-hat; the guitars combine reliable rhythm accompaniment with dramatic, all-out solo bursts; the vocals are clean-cut and harmonic. Overall, this is classic-sounding rock-n-roll -- not especially heavy, but refreshing. I enjoyed the simple, honest feeling of this album.

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