Search - Busy Signals :: Busy Signals

Great punk, power-pop album done the right way

Oliver Sheppard | US | 12/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Has anyone mentioned The Pretenders when reviewing this? Think of Chrissie Hynde singing for the Buzzcocks circa 1979. Or, at least, that's a starting point. There is a heavy pre-1981 Pretenders vibe to this, even down to the phone call sound effects at the end of the song "Ring, Ring, Ring," which brings to mind the early Pretenders song "The Phone Call."



Busy Signals' sound is burlier than The Pretenders, however, (even counting the Pretenders' earliest phase) which is good. And although this is a punk LP, it is not thrashy, or aggro, or hairy-chested tough guy stuff. It's just well-written, well-executed, hooky-as-heck late 70s, early 80s style punk rock and roll. It owes as much to the Buzzcocks and the Undertones as it does to bands like the female-fronted Penetration and maybe even a hint of super early Blondie. But, like I said, Busy Signals play punk -- not new wave. The sound on this s/t LP is beefier than 70s punk stuff by a tad -- definitely guitar-driven -- but the vocals come through crystal clear, as in power pop. "Uh Oh," the second to last track, is a complete power pop gem. Come to think of it, every track on here is a winner to some degree.



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