This album is one of the classical Tooth & Nail-albums every fan should have in his collection, but although I have been listening to T&N-records for about 2,5 years I didn't have this album. Now that I finally do, I'm discovering what I've missed.... It's one of the best punkrock-records I've ever heard: from the first song "Insult to Injury" off, this album grabs the listener's attention. This is their debut (and their only album so far), but this band sounds really smart. The amazing guitar-parts in songs like "Homecoming" and "Dear Charlotte" make me jealous, the characteristic voice of the singer combined with those catchy "sing-along"- choruses make me go mad all the time. Since the day that I got this album, I've been listening to it almost everyday.
Forget about NoFx,
Lagwagon and Millencolin: this band is WAY better, although I do like all these
bands. The combination of straight-forward punkrawk, rock 'n' roll and most of
all the terrific guitar-parts. It's hard to be original in punkrock, but that
band succeeds in having their own style, mainly because the voice of the
lead-singer is hard to compare with other singers. It's a perfect voice for this
type of melodic punkrock. Although I still think MxPx is the best punkrock-band
around, it's a pity that these guys didn't release more albums. There's hope,
however, because Craig's Brother just released a 7" on their own label and
they are currently working on a new full-length, scheduled to be out this summer
on Tooth & Nail. It's time for this band to get their big break, although this
record never gets boring.... Maybe the fact that all 5 members of Craig's
Brother wrote songs for this album results in the great variety and originality
on this record.
The lyrics deal about the lives of young people and I
think the best word to describe the lyrics is "honest". They honestly
write about looking to cover-girls in magazines ("Going Blind"), falling in love
("My Annie") and other topics in lives of teenagers. The most impressive song is
"In Memory", about losing a friend. The booklet is quite original, it's filled
with photos of all the people in their high-school, including all 5 band-members, and with letters
taken from one of the guys' actual yearbook. High School Rock
served straight from California. So, consider this a message to all you punkrock-freaks:
don't miss Craig's Brother, they are really good!!!
"In memory": ....your life was a
picture of how I always wanted to be...
Karel Smouter
for