Sunday, March 19, 2023

Dave Strong - self titled

Portsmouth, New Hampshire & Portland, Maine–based songwriter Dave Strong (The Pinheads, The Guts, Wimpy Rutherford & The Cryptics) has been playing punk rock music for decades. He has released an absolutely fantastic debut solo album which has been co-released by Phameless Records and This Is Just A Record Label. These songs were previously released as digital singles on Laptop Punk Records, and now they fit together perfectly on an album that blends the best elements of pop-punk and original era rock n' roll. The album features new versions of a couple songs Strong wrote for the Guts ("Katie is a Chainsmoker," "Still Thinkin' About You") along with a slew of catchy, rockin' tunes and great cover versions of Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" and the Ramones' "She's the One." As a fan of pop-punk bands that trace their sound back to early rock n' roll, I naturally dig Strong's mix of influences. His style leans a little more rock n' roll, and that's perfectly fine with me. As a songwriter, he skillfully combines the simplicity and sing-along hooks of old school pop-punk with the energy and attitude of '50s rock n' roll & rockabilly. These ten tunes are sure to get your toes tapping and your head bobbing. Strong plays many of the instruments himself, but several tracks feature Terry McNulty on upright bass. Fans of Strong's fellow New England mafiosi Kurt Baker, Geoff Palmer, and Brad Marino are sure to dig choice tracks such as "It's Alright" and "Little Girl." And what can I say about a guy who has the balls to cover one of the best Ramones songs and 100% pull it off? No doubt about it, this is a super enjoyable and undeniably strong debut album! CD and cassette versions are available now from This Is Just A Record Label. Vinyl, due out this summer, can be preordered here!

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