The SUCK could never be accused of making music that says nothing to me about my life. Its 2nd (or, more properly, second and a half) 7", The America 2021 EP, arrives today and includes three songs in which the consumption of beer looms large. In the case of "America 2021," beer is a mechanism integral to coping with the unprecedented shittiness of pandemic life. In the case of "The Pond Diver" and "Playing Swords," the beer consumption gets a little out of hand. Before you know it, people are falling into ponds or finding themselves alone at home entertaining themselves in the most juvenile ways. Playing swords all by yourself may seem like great fun, but remember that the SUCK are trained professionals. Don't try this at home!
For your convenience and because the SUCK are morally opposed to writing B-sides, all three of these tracks are on one side of the record. You can let the whole record play through without having to put down your beer. These guys thought of everything! Essentially this EP is everything you've come to expect from a SUCK release. There's no fooling around going on: just three tracks of blistering punk rock with guitars at full blast and lyrics so dumb that they're actually smart. Adhering to the most sensible guidelines for good living (listen to HEAD, emulate The Fonz, and never learn a fourth chord), the SUCK continues to give us something to believe in during uncertain times. And from the Dunk, I've learned that every loss is just a reason to get excited about the next win. The latest release on the Problems' venerable imprint Route 13 Recordings, The America 2021 EP spins at 45 RPM and comes with a big hole just as God intended. It is available for purchase now from The Ragpicker Merch. "What would Dunk do?" t-shirts are sold separately (yeah, really!)
I kind of don't like Ramonescore — except for when I totally love it! There are a handful of bands in existence that can pull off this very specific genre of music. More often not, for reasons no one can possibly explain, these bands are Canadian. So it makes sense that a Canadian record label would put out a really good Ramonescore record. Faster and Louder Records out of Ontario is responsible for a split 7" pairing London's Johnny Terrein and the Bad Lieutenants with the SUCK from Harrisburg, PA (717 represent!). Of course the SUCK is at a disadvantage in lacking Canadian citizenship. But given that three different American states are in conflict over being able to claim the SUCK, the band's geographical ties are still up in the air. The concept of this release is that each band covers one of the other's songs and also contributes an original song. The headline is that Johnny Terrein and the Bad Lieutenants had the balls to cover THE BEST song by the SUCK: the street rock anthem "Partytown USA." The second headline is that the SUCK's second-best song is on this very record! That's right: I'm going to jump "Cult of the Fonz" over "Fantasy Beer League" on my big board of SUCK songs. It was not an an easy decision, but I carefully considered it over many beers and evenings. I feel like "Cult of the Fonz" is much bigger than just a song. It's practically a way of life. It should be an actual cult. Can you imagine gangs of middle-aged dudes running around in leather jackets? What would that be like?
Each band here does a very credible job of covering the other. I wasn't sure I could accept any band but the SUCK performing the hallowed "Partytown USA." But Johnny Terrein and the Bad Lieutenants pretty much crush this song! Their original, "Prisoner," is excellent as well. Perhaps the lesson here is that you can never go wrong with pop culture references. I also like that both of these bands are Ramones-inspired without being Ramones clones. If you like simple and solid no-bullshit three-chord punk rock, this record and these bands are well worth your attention. The 7" officially releases October 1st (the same day the SUCK plays its first-ever live show at Mom's Basement Fest in Youngstown, Ohio!). Blue vinyl is limited to 101 copies, and black is limited to 202. Faster and and Louder Records has no affiliation with this blog — other than that we both had the good sense to steal from the best.
Somehow the world made it through all of last year without any new music from the SUCK. Man, that was a rough go. Fans were so distraught that a great many went as far as to proclaim 2020 the worst year ever. Fortunately, the unbearable wait is almost over. Boris Sprinkler, the second album from these Mid-Atlantic street rock champions, will officially be out next weekend on Mom's Basement Records. 2019's In-Cog-Neat-O surely set a standard that the SUCK would be hard-pressed to maintain. What would it take for the band to concoct another batch of tunes as massively rocking, supremely amusing, thoroughly unoriginal, and brilliantly stupid as the eight songs that comprised In-Cog-Neat-O? These secrets have never been revealed, but I believe Boris Sprinkler is the fruit of much deep reflection, excessive drinking, and deep reflection under the influence of excessive drinking.
Having already perfected a formula for what a SUCK album ought to be, the band took great care to not disappoint the fan base. Eight of Boris Sprinkler's ten tracks clock in at under two minutes, and the songwriting continues to strictly adhere to the tenet that no band needed to exist after the Ramones, except maybe HEAD. There are certain things we all demand from a SUCK album, so let's go ahead and run Boris Sprinkler through the checklist. Is there a song about drinking? There are actually multiple songs referencing drinking, but "Fantasy Beer League" is THE song about drinking and an instant classic in the SUCK canon. For a guy who loves sports, I am surprisingly terrible at fantasy leagues. But I feel like I could be a contender in this one! Is there a party song on this record? Why yes: "Who Brought The Tits" chronicles a basement hang so epic that a six-foot sub was fully consumed and The Dunk started throwing chairs. Check! Does the band manage another song as wrong and inappropriate as the last album's "Vape Store"? Why, yes: "You're Not Home" is way more wrong and way more inappropriate! Is there a cover of some unheralded pop-punk classic that's not nearly as good as the original? For sure, and this time it's The Proteens' "I Told You So". Does the album end with a devastating tale of heartbreak and despair exacerbated by modern technology? Why, yes: "J Prozac on a BMX Bike" is even better than its last album counterpart "The Catfish" and a reminder that the SUCK could be a top-rate pop-punk band if they ever lost the physical wherewithal to rock the streets. Elsewhere, there are songs about Dungeons & Dragons, suave secret agents, and, uh, jugs. The SUCK are nothing if not renaissance men.
My love/hate relationship with the musical genre known as "Ramonescore" tends to mirror my love/hate relationship with IPAs. Overall I find the style to be overdone and largely full of indistinguishable clones. But the handful of exceptions are truly magnificent. I'll gladly take a Troegs Perpetual any day of the year. And the SUCK is the Troegs Perpetual of its world. It seems fitting that the SUCK is on the same record label that has released music by The Vapids and NECK. If you like those bands, you will also like the SUCK. In fact, you probably already like the SUCK if you like those bands! Boris Sprinkler is a bigger and better follow-up to its formidable predecessor. The Alien and The Dunk have again turned out some of the hottest-sounding guitars in all of the land. The Cola remains a unique and charismatic vocal presence -- as convincing boasting about the stun gas in his key chain as he is pining over the girl who broke his heart years ago. And the Problem and the Basement continue to do all of the unappreciated work of keeping everything simple and tight (notice that on the album cover, they appear ready to start playing at a moment's notice, while The Dunk looks like he may have just murdered a man with his guitar). As a lifetime Pennsylvanian, I am proud that we get to count the SUCK as one of our own. Although I believe that 20% of Delaware may be eligible to claim the SUCK as well. I'll need to get a ruling on that. Boris Sprinkler officially releases the day after April 1st -- because the SUCK doesn't fool around!
You all have had your little taste of street rock. Are you finally ready for the main course? You better be! I've been teasing/promising/threatening the arrival of a full-length debut from the SUCK for a while now, and finally the wait is (almost) over. In-Cog-Neat-O is up for pre-order today over at the magnificent Moms Basement Records. I gotta tell you that this thing is gonna have smoke coming out of your ears! Lean and mean at eight tracks with only two of 'em daring to eclipse the mostly forbidden two-minute mark, In-Cog-Neat-O brings on the next phase of street rock - the one that will bring hope to humanity and have young and old alike pledging allegiance. While by all means inspired by/allied with the HEAD/NECK/Vapids axis of Ramones worship, the SUCK very much has its own thing going. Packing such explosive power that its membership had to be spread across three contiguous states, this gang really brings the rock on this debut long player. For real: these dudes aren't afraid to make a punk record that actually sounds good! Those guitars pack a mega-punch, and you'll swear they enlisted an army to record some of those backing vocals. And while this album obviously owes a great deal to the Ramones and pop-punk, it also earns high marks in the originality/uniqueness department. Given that my stance on humor is "the darker, the better", the SUCK and I are definitely on the same wavelength. The closest thing to a "love song" on this record is about a guy who gets catfished. "#youredead" is a feelgood hit about threatening murder over social media. "Death Machine" is literally about building a contraption for killing people. "The Vape Store" concerns the plight of unemployed grown men who hit on teen girls. These songs are so very wrong - yet somehow so right! Elsewhere the band addresses some of the burning topics of our time: Mexican bogeymen, the ruthlessly competitive sport of flip cup, and the tangled web of love interests complicating the plot of the Twilight franchise.
Coming off a massively acclaimed self-titled EP and the instant classic web single "Party Town, USA", the SUCK had the pop-punk and Ramones-loving communities pumped for an absolute ripper of a debut album. I am confident in guaranteeing that nobody is going to be disappointed! The SUCK has come out and crushed this one. You've got The Dunk and The Alien cranking up the guitar thunder, The Basement knocking the snot out of his drums, The Problem laying it down like Dee Dee, and The Cola bringing a voice to this band's unique sense of humor and unwavering pursuit of fun. And as for the short running time...that just gives you more chances in a day to listen to the album! While leaving little doubt about its influences, In-Cog-Neat-O finds the SUCK carving out plenty of territory for itself. It's a little bit Ramonescore, a little bit party punk, a little bit pop-punk, and a whole lot of street rock! Your prayers have finally been answered. East Coast, represent!
What could be better to kick off the weekend than a triumphant shot of good times straight out of Party Town, USA?! Where is Party Town, USA? I think I might know, but I prefer to think of it as a state of mind. Its most celebrated residents are the SUCK: internationally adored ambassadors of street rock and the best new thing to happen to music in 2018. The exclusive digital single "Party Town, USA" is out now on Something To Do Records. It's the third release in the label's monthly singles series titled Something To Do Music For Something To Do People. If you were lucky enough to snag a copy of the SUCK'S debut EP earlier this year, you know exactly what to expect: top-tier Ramones-inspired rock n' roll that kicks all kinds of ass and is above all else FUN. I love the catchy leads and massive guitars on this track, and seriously these lyrics make Andrew WK sound like a lightweight partier! Honestly, I feel like the SUCK will save us all. They are an '80s teen movie come to life, and they will not stop until the masses are dancing in the streets. If you, like me, dream of a world where they build towering monuments to HEAD and Troegs beer outsells Coors, "Party Town, USA" will be your new personal anthem. Play loud or suffer the consequences!
After months of rumors, speculation, titillating mystery, and zealous anticipation, it is just about time for the world to behold the almighty street rock of the SUCK. Who are the SUCK? What is street rock? We finally have answers!
Based in Harrisburg, PA (a mere 25 miles from Faster and Louder HQ), the SUCK is a veritable supergroup of Ramonescore/pop-punk. You may recognize famed personnel from the likes of The Lebowskis and Saturday Night Kids. Some of these guys have been in the game so long that I might have been writing about their bands as far back as 1995 (remember Explosive Kate? Aliens and Strangers?). The SUCK brings to mind HEAD if they were obsessed with the popular culture of the late '70s and early '80s. You can call it pop-punk or Ramonescore, and you wouldn't be wrong (these guys even cover the NECK classic "Lights Out"). But "street rock" most perfectly describes what the SUCK is all about. Upon hearing the band's smash hit "Biff", I envisioned a gang of teenage hoodlums parading through urban ruins in 1979 vintage Technicolor. I was able to get an advance listen to the band's full debut EP (let's just say that I know a guy...), and I have to say that the rest of the record is of the same caliber. "Drinking" combines two of the great themes in pop-punk: heartbreak and, uh, drinking! If you're into the tougher-sounding side of pop-punk, you'll dig this one! The cover of "Lights Out" is great. I would ordinarily say that I hope this version will compel people to seek out the original. But honestly, I think most people who are going to like the SUCK are already well-aware of the greatness of NECK! "All We Know" was co-written by Jimmy Vapid and is the most "pop" song on the album (that's a good thing!). It really closes the EP in a triumphant/anthemic fashion. And just like that, the SUCK leave you wanting more! Yes, we all know what kind of music this is. These guys wear their influences on their (leather jacketed) sleeves. But when it comes to this style of band, I've not heard many that do it as well as the SUCK. The songs are genuinely memorable, and I'd be hard-pressed to name anything I've heard lately that's more fun to listen to. Makes me feel like I'm 22 again!
Ellie and Johnny Problem are reviving their Route 13 Recordings imprint for the release of the SUCK's debut EP. Pre-ordering information will be posted soon on the band's Facebook page. So be sure to like it and follow if you dig "Biff". Street rock is poised to take over the world!
