JOHNNY THURSDAY AND THE FRIDAY KNIGHTS:
Ruin It for Everyone: CD
Really dig the vocals on this one. Just the kinda higher pitched, vaguely glammy voice I like. It’s almost a cross between Brian from the Trash Brats and Mark from the Ducky Boys. If they were playing Dolls/Heartbreakers style glampunk, I would be all over this. Unfortunately, the songs are really fast and the two guitars are going nonstop: no real dynamics to speak of. This reminds me a whole lot of a band like the Turbo A.C.’s or the Gotohells, almost great, but just missing something. Too much guitar, not quite enough vocal hooks; the songs just aren’t quite there. Good ballad though, which, in all seriousness, is high praise from me. I am a big ballad fan and it is rare that I hear a good one, especially from a punk band, which just makes me think that if they slowed it down a bit, this band would kill. They would be a good band to see on a Friday night, but on this disc, there’s just not enough here to warrant repeat listenings. This singer should do an acoustic record. I bet that would be freakin’ awesome. –Mike Frame (Hangmen)