THEE TRASH BRATS - American Disaster LP Reviews

...REVIEWS !!

TRASH BRATS - American Disaster LP

ENGLISH

ALPHA MONIC#2 (ITALY) 2003 Compilation of the best cuts by this four-piece from Detroit. 12 originals with a terrific songwriting, both in music and lyrics. Basically it’s power-pop mixed with punkrock, catchy as phuck. It’s just unbelievable, I found myself singing along quite a few times on almost all the tracks, even though I’m not into this kinda music. I liked it, and I like what this label’s doing, they might really take me back into punkrock. (Johnny)

RAZORCAKE #11 (USA) NOVEMBER 2002 This band played at the Avalon Nightclub. About four hundred people were at the show. The jam session was awesome. It whupped a lion's ass. Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats. The band played it on. The band got down. The crowd roared like a lion. It whupped a mule's ass (i actually would not go so far as to say that this band whups a mule's ass. There's something about the concept of melding late '80s glam-hair-metal with punkrock that seems to inherently point out that punkrock-flavored glam-metal might be the way to go [if you're interested], but that glam-metal flavored punkrock, if you do the math, really has no chance of succeeding, at least not the way you want it to, and i tend to suspect that bands like the Trash Brats are hearing/thinking "punkrock flavored glam metal," but it's coming out glam metal-flavored punkrock, which is okay, but not exactly Rock Sensation Sweepin' The Nation material). Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats (which is not to say that i find no value in this band; "Eatin' Crow" is cool in a first GG Allin LP kinda way, "Imitation Generation" did, in fact, have me legitimately contemplating whether the band intended it to sound like imitation Generation X [uh, the band], and "Hungry Eyeballs" evoked some of the Vandals' better faux-country moments. Also, the wah-wah in "Must Be Cocaine" is most boss!). The show was over at last (truer than you know: One of the most glaring problems with this record is that ALMOST ALL THE SONGS ARE WAY TOO FUCKING LONG. Hey, it's only a clever, catchy line the first seventy-two times you hear it! These songs drag out to the point where you begin to personally resent the song for not being over with, then they usually add these sort of smart-ass epic endings to them, merely for the sake of frivolity, which would have been okay had the song not worn out its welcome two choruses previous. "Feeding the Mosquitos" is one of my favorite songs on the album, due in no small part to the fact that i only consider it twenty seconds too long). A lot of people met the band. The rock show was awesome (i will go so far as to say that the song "Suicide Dedication" – you're supposed to request it for your ex right before you off yourself, so whenever the song plays after that people will talk shit about WHAT A MEAN CRUEL HEARTLESS FUCKING BITCH SHE WAS, not that i know any girls like that, no sir, not me – is legitimately great, the kind of thing NOFX would have already done if they were as unworthless as people claim they are, which i have never seen shred one of evidence to support. Too bad you can only really use it effectively once, as opposed to the far more utilitarian "Suicidal Failure" by Suicidal Tendencies). It was a whupping on a mule's ass (this band has a song called "Bubblegum Girl." If Saddam Hussein ever gets a weapon whereby he can combine "Bubblegum Girl" with the Teen Idols' "Peanut Butter Girl," i AM gonna off myself, because i can't take the fucking horror such a thing would unleash). Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats, Trash Brats. Rock over London. Rock on, Chicago. General Motors: We never forget who's driving. BEST SONG TITLE: "No Jangle Thrust" BEST SONG: "Suicide Dedication" FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: I swear to God the melody from "Who Put the Words" is heisted from that goddamn "I'd Like to teach the World to Sing" Coca-Cola® commercial circa 1971!(Rev. Nørb)

SHREDDING PAPER#14 (USA) SEPTEMBER 2002 Their name says it all, 12 trashy punk songs, from a band out of Detroit that´s been around for years. There are a ton of bands from Detroit that have hit the punk scene lately, but these guys take a backseat to no one, guitars that blaze away in true rock and roll fashion, snotty singalong vocals, and the music that crosses the NEW YORK DOLLS and the DEAD BOYS with some nifty power pop hooks, And it´s all done without a trendy affected attitude that mayn other bands have, no hipster bullshit here, just songs that will stick in year head long after the needle has lifted. The songs are compiled from three diffrenet releases, so hit the ALIEN SNATCH! website to see if you already have´em all, but pick it up anyway because you must own the songs like this one the vinyl they were meant to be played.(Steve)

NOW WAVE MAG (USA) AUGUST 2002 First of all, thee TRASH BRATS were glam when glam wasn’t cool. Nowadays it’s certifiably chic to do the whole glam-punk/glitter-rawk thing----but “America’s only rock n’ roll band” has been true to the post-NEW YORK DOLLS/JAYNE COUNTY/HOLLYWOOD BRATS /JONESES glamorous trash-pop legacy for a decade-and-a-half now. These dudes were suffering and sweating and struggling and bleeding for the glory of rock n’ roll back when their “look” and “sound” were still as un-cool as un-cool gets (In the late 80’s, they were too punk for the metal crowd; a decade later, they were too metal for the punk crowd). So now the hipsters are finally hip to their sort of noise, but it’s the Johnny-come-latelys who are getting all the adulation while da Brats remain overlooked, underpaid, and doomed to obscurity. Funny, eh?

Secondly, you won’t find a truer, purer rock n’ roll band than thee TRASH BRATS ANYWHERE. No joke. You can neglect them all you want, but you can’t kill these guys! Every other year, they’re bound to rise from the ashes primed to rock your world, drink your booze, and savor the seedy side of life. They get points not just for super style and impeccable taste, but also for cranking out divinely awesome noise of the highest caliber. Their sonic hybrid is a straight-up blend of punk, hard rock, power pop, and old-fashioned dirty back-alley rock n’ roll. It’s equal parts CHEAP TRICK, DEAD BOYS, DOLLS, and DICTATORS---and these fellows are so damn good that your pathetic band could only DREAM of rocking so mightily! They wed thunderous riffs to sticky-sweet melodies, bubblegum hooks to bitchin’ guitar solos, and anthemic choruses to gritty back-street rhythms. Their live show is legendary, their records consistently rock, and their very existence exemplifies all that’s FUCKING COOL about sleazy-sweet, trashed-out rock n’ roll. If I forgot to include them in my “Best Bands of the 90’s” list, it’s only because I suck.

Thirdly, thee T-Brats’ latest & greatest long-player is now available on the VINYL format from those wayward purveyors of disreputable noise, Alien Snatch Records! If the last couple of singles were a bit too cock-rock for you, go ahead and REJOICE, chief! Back are those melodic gutter-gem pop smashes ("Eatin' Crow", "Suicide Dedication", "Don't Wanna Dance")---along with copious servings of blistering punk power ("Nice Girl To Visit", "Who Put The Words") and a few smoking numbers ("Rocket To Heaven", "Must Be The Cocaine") for the hair-teasing metal-head in all of us.

Fourth of all, I’d like to say that Creed sucks, French’s Mustard rules, Dr. Phil’s a dick, and Angus Young is God.

AMERICAN DISASTER is thee TRASH BRATS’ best album yet! (Josh Rutledge)

METRO TIMES DETROIT (USA) AUGUST 2002 Detroit’s pioneering glitter-pop holdouts have clearly influenced everyone from Sponge to Dope to Marilyn Manson to dozens of makeup-wearing kiddie-punk-pop Lookout! bands the world over. It’s the typical sob story that’s hell-hounded rock ’n’ roll’s trailblazers from day one — that it is inevitably the skinnier, richer, better-connected imitators with the famous fathers and higher cheekbones who get the glory and the cash while the architects get, at best, laid. Jaded? Drunk? Strung-out? Or do they keep their sense of humor and soldier on and on and on and on, left of the dial? Hence “America’s only rock ’n’ roll band,” as the Brats are lovingly referred to by the group’s hardcore cult following. They’re a band widely appreciated in other parts of the world (Sweden, Japan, France), while often overlooked and imitated here in their homeland. Preposterously, it took some discriminating German boutique label to release this limited-edition Trash Brats first full-length vinyl, import-only, collector’s-edition LP. American Disaster features both crowd-pleasing, sing-along classics (“Bubble Gum Girl,” “Don’t Wanna Dance”) as well as more aggressive, punch-drunk, hitsville punk rockers (“Must Be The Cocaine,” “Rocket To Heaven”). A must for Motor City rock ’n’ roll archivists and anybody attempting to keep the summer alive. (Dimitri Monroe)´

GERMAN

CHOKE (AUSTRIA) MAY 2003 Eine Art Best Of Zusammenstellung auf Vinyl, mit 7 Songs von der ihrer letzten CD „American Disaster“, 2 vom „Out of the closet“ Album und 3 von ihrem Debüt. Irgendwie mag ich diese Verbindung zwischen 70 Glam und Punkrock, egal ob das wie am Anfang die NEW YORK DOLLS waren, oder LIBERTINES oder AMERICAN HEARTBREAK, ich weiß auch nicht. Und jetzt, wo die Tage wieder länger werden, die Mädchen ihre Winterjacken wieder zu Hause lassen und man bald wieder mit offenen Fenster durch die Gegend fahren kann, da jammere ich dass ich einen CD-Player im Auto hab verdammt! Den ansonsten wäre diese Platte ein Soundtrack zum Innenstadt Stop and Go Verkehr, denn da BLEIBT die gute Laune! Hits: „EATIN CROW“, „IMMITATION GENERATION“, MUST BE COCAINE“,... ach was, alle 12 Tracks!

GREEN HELL(GERMANY) JULY 2002 Da hat sich Daniel eine weitere erstklassige Band gesichert!! Bislang gab es die Alben der Amerikaner immer nur auf cd und mit "American disaster" liegt jetzt eine Art Best Of der TRASH BRATS vor. Die Hälfte der Songs stammt von der letzten, auch "American disaster" betitelten lp, der Rest ist von den alten Platten. Cooler Glam Punk / Power Pop zwischen TOILET BOYS, TRASHCAN DARLINS, NEW YORK DOLLS, AMERICAN HEARTBREAK, DIMESTORE HALOES, DEAD BOYS oder HOLLYWOOD TEASE. Jetzt endlich auf Vinyl mit großartigem King Velveeda Comic Cover lieferbar!

PLASTIC BOMB (GERMANY) SEPTEMBER 2002 Was die TRASH BRATS auh Ihrer LP produzieren nötigt mir gehörigen Respekt ab. Wilder, enthusiastischer Glam-Punkrock. Seht zeitgemäß, kein bisschen Retro. Und die musikalische Qualität wird keineswegs von peinlichem Posertum übertüncht. Man kann nicht glauben, dass die TRASH BRATS schon etliche Jahre auf dem Buckel haben. Denn sie klingen so schön ungestüm, ungezähmt und voller Spiel- und Lebensfreude wie eine brandheiße neu gegründete Band. Es sind einfach tolle hymnische Stücke. Zusammen mit den REVOLVERS klar das beste aus dieser Richtung. Tip!

FLYING REVOLVERBLATT #23 (GERMANY) OKTOBER 2002 : Hiermit gibt es zum ersten Mal eine TRASG BRATS Platte auf Vinyl, dazu hat ALIEN SNATCH! einige Songs von alten Platten (hauptsächlich von der letzten, ebenfalls " American Disaster" betitelten Scheibe) als "special edition" zu dieser LP zusammengestellt. Den Hörer erwartet nun eine melodische Glampunk "Best of..." Scheibe dieser Detroiter Band, die es nun bereits seit 15 Jahren gibt und in verschiedenen Momenten an vergleichbare Bands wie AMERICAN HEARTBREAK, BLACK HALOS, TRASHCAN DARLINGS oder DIMESTORE HALOES erinnern kann. Abgerundet wird das gelungeneProjeckt durch ein schicken Comic cover von King Velveeda.

FLIGHT13 (GERMANY) JULY 2002 Erster VINYL-Longplayer der Detroiter Rock´n´Roll Combo - eine Art "best of" der bisherigen Alben: 7 Songs vom aktuellen "American Disaster" Album (wurde zum -best rock album- des Jahres gewählt!), 2 Tracks von "out of he closet" und 3 klassiche Hits von ihrem selbstbetitelten Debüt ("Bubblegum Girl", "Don´t Wanna Dance" & "Suicide Dedication"). Als Vergleiche können die NEW YORK DOLLS, CHEAP TRICK, DEAD BOYS, LAZY COWGIRLS, ... herhalten. Eine komplett neues Album ist noch für dieses Jahr vorgesehen ...

FRENCH

Dig It ! (France) # 26 SEP 2002 Ça fait déjà quinze ans que les Trash Brats peinturlurent de glam punk pop la scène rock de Détroit. Pour fêter ça, Alien Snatch a édité en vinyle une version spéciale du CD American Disaster : sept morceaux de l'album d'origine + deux extraits de Out Of The Closet (1996) + trois extraits du premier album (paru à l'origine en cassette en 1987). Un bon moyen de découvrir ces dignes héritiers des New York Dolls et des Hollywood Brats. Du reste des tubes du calibre de "Rocket To Heaven", "Must Be Cocaine" ou "Suicide Dedication" ne courent pas les bacs.(sylvain)