Old school slams straight into the new school on
Swingin' Utters
' debut album, reissued by
Fat Wreck Chords
. The quintet hails from Santa Cruz, but they relocated north, thus the title,
The Streets of San Francisco
. Combining the taut, melodic edge of
the Clash
and the anthemic quality of
Sham 69
with a hint of
the Sex Pistols
and nods to
Stiff Little Fingers
, the album may be rife with influences, but is still potent with potential. Less nihilistic than their predecessors,
' world view tends more toward the fatalistic. On songs like
"Teenage Genocide,"
"Tied Down, Spit On,"
and most impressively,
"Storybook Disease,"
the group struggles with the modern world and people's inability to get it or themselves right. The music walks a wondrously fine line between dark and light, with the upbeat melodies set against the desolate lyrics, leaving just a glint of hope. The group's diverse sound is equally impressive, swinging from more frenetic
hardcore
to harmony-hued
punk
, Irishesque
drinking songs
, and onto the almost epic
"Catastrophe,"
which descends from a drunken bar scene into a
Clashesque
riff, tossing in vocal samples, phenomenal guitar work, and a
singalong
melody for a particularly heady brew. Even this early on,
' tight playing, pummeling rhythms, and fabulous guitar leads were impressive. With time they'd get even better. ~ Jo-Ann Greene