Monday, January 14, 2019

The Putz - Mad Monster Party

You could say I'm a little late getting to this Halloween soundtrack from The Putz, but wouldn't that imply that horror should only be a seasonal pleasure? To quote the Dead Kennedys: "Why not every day?!"

I'm not always a fan of "horror" punk, but I sure am a fan of The Putz. This is my third time reviewing this band, and Mad Monster Party has helped me realize why I'm not a big horror punk guy. A lot of horror punk explores the darker side of the horror genre, whereas I'm more into the goofy/fun side. I like monsters the best when they're drinking and dancing instead of murdering. The Putz have fully explored the fun side of horror on their latest EP. Basically these are typical pop-punk songs, except the protagonists are monsters instead of people. The title track is like a pop-punk version of "The Monster Mash" - an upbeat ode to all of your favorite creatures getting down. Come on: who wouldn't want to party with Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and Frankenstein's monster? Elsewhere, songs cover such topics as The Invisible Man's girl troubles, The Creature From the Black Lagoon's tremendous surfing prowess, and vampires needing to maximize their partying time. Yes, this is the type of horror that I can relate to! Thematic as it may be, Mad Monster Party is pretty much in line with every other Putz record. This is Ramones/Lookout! Records influenced pop-punk done to complete perfection. If you can make it through even half of "Mad Monster Party" without wanting to sing along, you just might be dead inside. And of course a song about an aquatic creature had to be Beach Boys inspired! Ya gotta love it! The Putz in my humble opinion are up there in the top tier of present-day pop-punk bands. And with Matt Drastic producing, there was no way Mad Monster Party wasn't going to be totally great! I wholeheartedly recommend it for your year-round listening pleasure.



-L.R.

https://theputz.bandcamp.com/album/mad-monster-party 
https://www.facebook.com/theputzrock/ 
https://www.eccentricpop.com/ 

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