Record Reviews

9/8/99

Citizen Fish: Active Ingredients    

Lookout Records

    Sometimes when you think of quintessential British Punk you think of the Sex Pistols. And sometimes when you think of quintessential British Punk you think of Rancid. But every once and a while when you try to think of quintessential British Punk you get hung up on the word "quintessential." So you go to a dictionary and you look it up and you find out that it
literally means "the fifth essence or element." If you are up on these things then you alreay know the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth.

Well, the fifth element in metaphysics is the absolute essence of something that makes it what it is. People can't go around mixing fire, water, earth, and air, and just start cloning things. Everything has a quintessence. And now it makes sense to you, because you realize that some bands today, have guitars, an obnoxious singer, loud riffs, shitty lyrics etc., but still aren't good punk music. They must be missing something. They are. They are missing the quintessence of punk music. They are missing what is known as punkessence. Usually these unlucky bands are American. The reason there is a shortage of this valuable element, especially on our continent is because Citizen Fish has been hording a very large supply in their secret underground caves in Britain for over a decade. Their stores seem to be unlimited. There at least is no shortage of quintessential punk music on their latest release "Active Ingredients." It's enough to make the Queen, and especially everybody over at LookOut records proud. It should have a throne of honor on your cd rack.
-Kevin Peckham


Cleaveland Bound Death Sentence

Lookout Records
This debut release from Lookout records happens to be my favorite punk cd of the summer. "CBDS" is a self proclaimed 'scratchy punk band' put together by members of The Salteens, Pinhead Gunpowder and The Dillinger Four. Grating and catchy at the same time, the music is well complemented by a balanced combination of sarcasticly humorous and intelligently anarchistic lyrics. The catchiest song on the album is "Love American Style" which you can listen to at the band's Lookout Records web site: http://www.lookoutrecords.com

"But the advertisers were all deemed liars
Test-marketing proved it to be true
And though a court case was held
And all the scum went to hell
Mid-America still wanted to sue"

-(Love American Style)

-Kevin Peckham