First off, i love the band name: The Underground Railroad to Candyland. Brilliantly witty and nostalgic.
Which is kind of like their music. They are a band from San Pedro, California that make sloppy indie punk that has some elements of The Clash, mid 1990s punk ska, Archers of Loaf, Green Day, and Boyracer. The music is catchy and silly and fun.
Dead Leg starts off with some kind of sample about a money making seminar while a guitar strums and drums click. "Come to my seminar" the voice intones, and then they kick into it, a whiny voice, layers of chiming guitar, loud drumming, and an insistent bass riff. This is a good, stomping song.
The Grownups Will Have Their Say is an odd mess of a song that still, somehow, works. The drum riff reminds me of Goody Two Shoes, the strings seem to come from Dexy's Midnight Runners, and the vocals remind me of Criminal Hygiene. Dexy's Criminal Ants?
Mixing it up a little, Yer Not The Only One has a melody really similar to This is the Modern World. In Case You Dunno has a different sounding voice, perhaps a different band member. At any rate, it seems more like old Midwestern punk. I mean the really old stuff -- The Dead Boys, MC5, that kind of thing. It has that kind of low-fi feel to it. They continue with the tour through retro land with Let's Go! Take It Slow!, which blends The Ramones and old school rockabilly. It is a fun shouty tune with horns and drums going berserk. This one would work The Star Bar crowd into a frenzy.
TURRTC get silly on Baby Makes WW3, a less than two minute trombone oompah song with a martial beat and nonsense singing. Diamond Ring is rip-roaring fun, the band tearing along with a swinging beat, and again they kind of remind me of Criminal Hygiene here. Is that the new West Coast punk sound?
Another silly interlude is next, Worried, which has a happy little melody cruising along over a clicked beat and some droning. It grows to a dense frenzy while the singer recounts a list of worries, mostly physical.
The next song tells you This Is A Blind Date!. They keep a fast beat and horns kind of wander around. Another fun tune.
It is back to channeling the sloppy low-fi and fast punk sound on And Now. The tune just kind of jangles and swings around. Omstro is another silly song, this time with odd organ sounds. It reminds me of Underachievers March And Fight Song by Archers of Loaf in that is a kind of silly shambling tune that is full of happiness and just makes you want to sing along, preferably drunkenly.
Weirdly enough, You Don't Like The Summer reminds me of James. It has one of those mouth organ sounds coupled with an acoustic guitar and a laconic beat. Not very many bands remind me of James. Huh.
And finally we end with the anthemic Th Ppl R Hm. Cymbals crash like crazy over fast riffing and general yelling, and then in the middle, there is a trumpet solo. An awesome end to the record, taking all of the catchiness and noisiness and sloppiness and ratcheting it up a notch. The people are home, indeed!
The whole record is over in about 30 minutes, and what a glorious 30 minutes they are! When is this band playing Atlanta, preferably on a Friday night at 529!
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