Indonesian Junk - A Life of Crimes (singles and rarities 2009​-​2018)

Well here's the compilation you were dying for! Indonesian Junk has been one of planet Earth's top punk rock rock and roll bands for several years now, releasing a trio of fantastic albums in Indonesian Junk (2015), Stars In The Night (2017), and Spiderbites (2019) on the always fabulous Rum Bar Records. The precursor to Indonesian Junk was the Daniel James Gang, who released two singles back in 2009-2010. In case you desired a one-stop shop for all of Indonesian Junk's non-album recordings as well as the super rare Daniel James Gang tracks, Rum Bar Records proudly presents the decade-spanning collection A Life of Crimes. This essentially functions as a fourth Indonesian Junk album. Like the other three, it's a killer mashup of street tough '70s punk, glam-inspired hard rock, and big hooky power pop with an additional touch of darkness and gloom. No other band gives you all of that at once!

The material on Life of Crimes spans the years 2009-2018. It features the entirety of the Daniel James Gang singles "Nothin' I Can Do and "In This City", Indonesian Junk's 2015 7" "Crimes", the KISS cover "C'mon and Love Me" from 2018's Darkness Calling EP, and four previously unreleased tracks. As is often the case with these kinds of collections, the cover songs are feature attractions. If your introduction to Indonesian Junk turns out to be a KISS cover, well that's kind of awesome! Daniel and company cut a great version of The Joneses' classic "Pill Box" back in 2017 which somehow was never released. Well now you finally get to hear it! There are also covers of "Situations" by Slaughter and the Dogs and "Outfit" by Starz. The fact that one band would cover KISS, The Joneses, Slaughter and the Dogs, and Starz tells you a lot about Daniel's musical vision! But don't sleep on the originals. "Crimes" is one of Indonesian Junk's signature songs. "Now That It's Over" blurs the lines between heartbreak and a complete mental breakdown. "Nothin' I Can Do" and "I'm So Bored" hold up as well as anything from the 2010 punk/power pop/rock and roll universe. If you're already a fan of this Milwaukee trio, A Life of Crimes is an essential purchase to complete your collection. And if you've yet to be inducted into the Junk Army, your next move should be to head on over to Bandcamp and explore the band's full criminal history!



-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-life-of-crimes-singles-and-rarities-2009-2018
https://indonesianjunk.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/indonesianjunk/
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords