The Bent Scepters play r'n'b/60s punk in a bit old fashioned way, but with slight touch of 90s. It's pretty good produced CD with good and catchy songs. I think Bent Scepters could be great fun to see live in bar. It's nice combination of moody farfisa/hammond organ, r'n'b/fuzz guitar and harmonica. All 12 songs are more or less mid tempo. There are 3 covers (Zappa, Electric Prunes & Manfred Mann (I think)) and 9 original numbers. It's difficult to choose favorites from this CD. All songs are even good, but there are no real killers. The only small minus here is the singing and I think that vocal is very important, but unfortunately that's the weak side of this band. Anyway CD has nice sphere and keeps your attention till the end. You can enjoy it - specially the keyboard and guitar solos. "Instant Peter Sellers" (instrumental) is maybe the best tune.
 

Beyond Lickin' have pretty strange style. It's not usual combination of garage/punk/psychobilly and surf. It's great psychotic band. "Question" is psychobilly/garage punk with lot of fuzz and really scary vocal. "Jerry Cotton" is instrumental surf with some psychobilly sounds. "Please Please Betty" is great garage punk with really great 77 punk vocal and "Real Slow Burn" is pure rockin' punk. Beyond Lickin' is one of the best Dutch bands at the moment and if you are fan of 60s nederbiet and nederpunk bands like Ivy Green, Speedtwins, Hellmettes, ... - do a good thing - don't pay astronomic prices for bands which don't exist anymore - but buy this record and support good music of today.
 

Clone Defects are from Detroit and when you see them on the sleeve you know everything already - it's great, it's Detroit punk and I like it a lot. It sounds like 1969 is back again and Stooges are risen from the grave, or if you prefer 21st century terminology - Clone Defects are not defect Stooges clone. This 33 rpm 7"EP is full of great punk, metallic guitars and no future vocals. If you consider yourself a manic record collector, vinyl junkie - then get this shit, turn the volume up and enjoy it!!!!!
 

WOOOOOWWWW I like this shit. It's not usual stuff we get for reviews. It's very cool instrumental r'n'b with great jazzy groove - in the way Booker T and MG's did it. "Bullfrog Boogaloo" is nice swinging hammond driven tune, but b side "Willie's Theme" is my favorite - it's great hammond/wah wah guitar lazy tune. These days (may 2001) Diplomats' full length should be out - can't wait to hear it, and you guys don't be lazy to check your local stores or order Diplomats Of Solid Sound - it's really solid band!!!
 
 

This is Italian Ramones clone. Honestly there is no big difference with Ramones, except for singing. Retarded are pretty good band and they are doing their 3 chord surf punk very well. My favorites are: "Judy Wants to Be My Girl", "Stupid Boy", "Baby Doll", "The Right Thing" and "Let's Go (Let's Go Let's Go). Retarded are nothing new, but this Cd is good fun - they drive from the beginning till the end. If you dig catchy Ramones tunes - this is something for you. Personally I think it would be much better if kids today liked Retarded and not some shitty Epitaph skate punk.