Sunday, October 30, 2022

Brad Marino - Basement Beat


Ramonescore as a musical genre is hit-or-miss for me, with usually more misses than hits. The issue, as I see it, is that this style of music is very hard to pull off. All those classic Ramones records are literally flawless. Imitations rarely satisfy. Ramonescore bands I genuinely enjoy tend to mix a Ramones influence with their own identifiable style. Yet on rare occasions, somebody will straight-up copy the formula of the first couple Ramones albums and manage to pull it off spectacularly. That's what Brad Marino has done with his new album Basement Beat (out now on Rum Bar Records, Hey Pizza! Records, and Memorable But Not Honorable). Of course, Brad Marino is one of my favorite artists in today's music scene. So I did approach this release with an open mind. But I've got to say that he's achieved the near-impossible here: making an unapologetic Ramones knock-off record that I actually want to listen to!

From the style to the production to the lyrics to the vocals, Basement Beat basks in the devout worship of the first two or three Ramones albums. In most cases, an album like this would just make wish I were listening to the actual Ramones. But because Brad Marino is such an exceptional songwriter, he has managed to make what sounds like the missing Ramones album between Leave Home and Rocket To Russia. He enlisted drummer extraordinaire Beau Basement to be his Tommy Ramone and played everything else himself (and also produced). On his previous solo outings, Marino has frequently visited the more "pop" side of the Ramones. But with this release, it's pure three-chord downstroke punk glory as he powers through 12 tracks in 23 minutes with song titles like "Communist Creep," "Rubber Room," "Spy for the B.B.I.," and "Nancy Is Narcoleptic." The songwriting, while derivative by design, is truly inspired. A new arrangement of "Brain Gone Dead" proves to be just as good as the original. "That Girl" would not sound out of place on any of Marino's albums. "Dream Last Night" is surprisingly profound. You could say that Marino is doing something that's been done a thousand times before, yet somehow he makes me thankful that it's now a thousand and one. 

Given that Basement Beat is such a departure from his usual solo work, Marino had considered releasing this project under a different name. But as he says, "it's all rock and roll" to him. And so the music gods have given us a new Brad Marino album we weren't even expecting. If you're a fan of his, you will enjoy this release. If you're into Ramonescore, you will enjoy this release. If the first Riverdales album and The Hanson Brothers' Sudden Death are the perfect ten albums of this musical style, Basement Beat is a solid nine. Hit up the links below to buy it on CD, vinyl, or tape!

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