The Radio Buzzkills - I Want My Records Back (Guest Review By Ralph J Rivera)

  

  There's been plenty of great pop punk songs down the years with titles such as Ursula Finally Has Tits (The Queers), Tina's Got Telekinesis (The Jasons), Jeannie's Got A Problem With Her Uterus (Screeching Weasel) etc etc etc. Maybe a great new song title would be Ralphie's Got A New Laptop as occasional Just Some Punk Songs guest reviewer Ralph J Rivera has managed to sort out his pc problems and he's back today with a new recommendation for you all to check out...

  First off I have to say THANK YOU to Mr. Mick Fletcher for bearing with me as I waited for my new laptop to arrive and then set it up (20+ hours later!). Okay... How do I write a review of one of my favourite modern Pop Punk bands that I'm also really good friends with? I DON'T!!! I just tell you that whatever you've heard, whatever hype you've read - These guys deserve every bit of it.

  I remember when the first album "Get Fired" came out and I was totally floored by the speed and the catchiness they could write songs with. I REALLY hate to use this comparison but you remember when the first The Steinways album came out and EVERYONE went apeshit over that band? Well the Radio Buzzkills (https://www.facebook.com/theradiobuzzkills) take that kind of hype/greatness to the next level! Since then they put out one of the best Pop Punk albums of the 2020's in "Get Lost" and continued on a rampage until Covid slammed the brakes.

 They kept plowing on, recording when they could & even put out an EP in that time called "Get Bored". Plus a little split EP with some "Commie" band that I shall not mention LOL! But here we are in 2022 - Valentine's Day and this St. Louis powerhouse have dropped their statement to the world. "Get Even" is all that and more! https://prorawk.bandcamp.com/album/get-even. 

  Zac, Jenn, Gene and Bass Amp have easily written one of the most "mature" albums any snotty Pop Punk band could have. 14 songs of pure perfection. I'm really glad they're giving Jenn more lead vocals and her stand out song "I Fell For You" is an instant classic. I absolutely LOVE this band and I'm personally glad to call all of them my friends! You want my favourite song? If I didn't know better I'd swear Zac wrote this one for me! Here ya go - I Want My Records Back... 

Radio Buzzkills - You're My Chernobyl

  So the year is drawing to a close but happily the release of great new punk records doesn't yet seem to be letting up. Earlier this week we were treated to a new split ep which features 2 of the best pop punk bands around. Both The Radio Buzzkills and Black Russians have featured on here several times before so it's no surprise I was eagerly anticipating the ep. I'd already heard Communist Party by Black Russians when they sent me it a while back so I was confident we'd be getting a high quality release. I was right....

  St Louis gutter pop punkers The Radio Buzzkills kick things off with the excellent You're My Chernobyl. Joint male/female vocals, a gorgeous mid paced chorus and even doo wops combine to make it a winner. A love song with a radioactive heart. They also provide the rocking Can't Stop The Western Bloc, a more gritty affair with added riffage.

  For their part, Black Russians provide the fast, aggressive and brief We'd Have A Riot Doing Krokodil (which is a "flesh eating" drug popular with junkies). They end the ep with another short blast of punk fury called Ain't Putin Up With You. The meat in the sandwich comes in the form of the aforementioned Communist Party. Kicking off with a Lillingtons style riff, it's a great song about partying like it's 1989. Western parties are lame, you want to bring your krokodil and get off your head with fellow party guests like Putin and Castro. It'll leave you in a world of pain (and maybe even in a body bag) but it sounds like it'll be one hell of a knees up!

  You can get the ep on red vinyl (communist red?), black vinyl or digital download here :   https://theradiobuzzkills.bandcamp.com/album/mutually-assured-destruction

  This is You're My Chernobyl...

The Radio Buzzkills - She Died On That Death Star

 

  A return to the blog today for The Radio Buzzkills, the Ramones/Screeching Weasel influenced pop punk 5 piece from St Louis. They wowed us last year with their debut album, Get Fired and now they're back with the equally impressive Get Lost! No bells, no whistles, just 11 old school ear worms in the vein of Teen Idols and Dance Hall Crashers. It's out on Outloud! Records and is available on cd and digital download...  https://outloudrecords.bandcamp.com/album/get-lost

  The band have spent all of this month on the road promoting the album and reports suggest their brand of snotty, irreverent old school pop punk went down a storm. There's still a number of dates lined up and you can check details here : https://www.facebook.com/theradiobuzzkills/

  So, Get Lost! It's Zac on lead vocals with bassist Jen providing counterpoint backing melodies. The songs have titles like Cannibal Girlfriend, Shark Surfer, Vampire Of Sacramento, She Hails Satan etc. It's catchy, it's fun. What more could you ask for?

  This is the song who's title made me check it out first and it didn't disappoint. A sad tale of vaporized love, it wasn't the KKK that took his girlfriend away it was the rebels. This is She Died On That Death Star...

Radio Buzzkills - I Wanna Kick Trump in the Face

  When Donald Trump was elected POTUS it was said that it would result in there being plenty of great music (it's just a shame he seems to want to bring the world to the brink of world war 3 whilst driving a wedge between the various different races & sexual orientations at home). He's becoming a bit of an easy target for disgruntled musicians to take aim at but I suppose it's only to be expected when he continually insists on painting a giant bullseye on his own back. Anyway, today you're getting another Trump bashing song.

  The Radio Buzzkills are from St Louis, Missouri and can be bracketed into the same category of old school, pop punk as the likes of The Queers, Screeching Weasel, The Parasites, The Manges and of course the pioneers of the field, The Ramones. They previously appeared on this blog with the Red Dawn inspired song Wolverines which was taken from 2016's The Quick And The Cheap ep (http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/the-radio-buzzkills-wolverines.html). Now they're back....

  Lining up with Zac Leonard (vocals), Jesse "Buzzkill" Abshier (guitar/vocals), GG Donahue (guitar/vocals), Jen "Buzzkill" Farrell (bass/vocals) and Matt Timson (drums/vocals) they've recorded a new album, Get Fired, which they'll be releasing  in January. They had 2 songs left over so they took a day to record them live and they've just been released as a single on Milksop Records. It's titled Can't Be Killed and as well as the Trump bashing A side you also get a great cover of a Prozacs classic (which I'll play on next week's Just Some Punk Songs show). You can d/l the single name your price here :  https://radiobuzzkills.bandcamp.com/

  Also on the horizon, again on Milksop Records, is a split 7" with Chicago band The Hypnic Jerks.

  If you find a song about a twitter obsessed, China harassing, woman molester who has tiny baby hands offensive then possibly this won't be your cup of tea. Otherwise enjoy. I Wanna Kick Trump In The Face....

The Radio Buzzkills - Wolverines

  Today I'm bringing you a song from a new ep that's intended as a love letter to Screeching Weasel and The Ramones.

  The ep in question is called The Quick And The Cheap and it's by St Louis based pop punk band The Radio Buzzkills. They formed back in 2002, broke up in 2007, reformed in 2010, split in 2012 and got back together in 2014. At this moment in time, they're still together!

  They've released a trio of albums (VHS, Blood For Dracula, ....Come Out Of The Closet) and a handful of eps, the latest of which is available "name your price" on Braindead Records : https://braindead-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-quick-and-the-cheap. It's one of my favourite eps of 2016 so far so check it out (in fact, check out the entire Braindead catalogue as there's some great records on there).

  Battling to save the US from invading Soviet Troops, meet the Wolverines.....