GenturZine

The punk nihilistic attitude is surely still evident on the U.S. Bombs' fourth release for Hellcat Records. What's more prevalent, however, is the political tone the album takes in reaction to the events of 9/11 and the sphere of influence involving the federal government. The tune "Framed" is surely a controversial song if there ever was one. In the song, the band suggests that the government was actually responsible for the crime and proceeded to frame Timothy McVeigh. This is followed up by "John Gottie," in which the band believes that the government might be better off run by the mob. Subject matter such as this will no doubt be tough for people to swallow, even some in the punk scene. Musically, though, the band hasn't strayed too far from the sound it has become known for: a dash of the Clash, some street-smart Boston punk (lead singer Duane Peters sounding vaguely similar to Dicky Barrett doesn't hurt the association), the Sex Pistols, and a good number of Hellcat and Fat Wreck bands. The U.S. Bombs certainly can't be faulted for being an engaging and challenging band. This style of punk, while seeming outdated at first listen, reveals itself to have more depth than the traditional '70s punk album possessed. The additional ska influences help spice things up, too. In the midst of its career, it's nice to see a band reinvent itself, whether musically or lyrically. The U.S. Bombs seem to be doing a fine job on both accounts. ~ Kurt Morris, AMG

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Album Info Released Genre Label Producer	: : : :	Mar 11, 2003 Punk rock Epitaph Records U.S. Bombs; Darian Rundall

Never was there a truer cliché than the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, something the U.S. Bombs have been confirming since the release of their debut single, "Scouts of America," back in 1995. Reduce the band's sound to its constituent pieces, and you're left with heaps of rifled old-school punk riffs, guitar leads, and rhythms littered across the floor. Glue them back together, and you'd have one killer British punk compilation, but what would be missing is the ephemeral modern sensibility that the group brings to all their tracks. So, in reality, you've heard all of Back at the Laundromat before, but never like this. Opening with a military tattoo ripped straight from the digits of Stiff Little Fingers, in quick order the Bombs splatter the tracks with note-perfect punk recreations, spurred by the same sense of nihilism that fired the original bands. What sets them apart from being generic old-school copyists is their predilection for slamming together riffs and rhythms from distinctly different sources. Take the anthemic "Die Alone," for example: a shotgun wedding between the Pistols' signature riff and a blushing Clash-esque lead guitar, it's sheer brilliance. Drummer Chip Hanna's SLF fixation makes for some equally unexpected but fabulous bedfellows, notably on "Cirenda," where the Ulstermen's beat bangs straight into a shoutalong Sham 69. And for the patriotic, America's own New York Dolls are an equally obvious influence. And so it goes, across a dozen melody-driven, high-energy anthems that are sure to set your pulse racing. Lyrically, too, the Bombs take their cue from the old school, as Duane Peters spits and growls his discontent. The music industry gets several good kickings, as does blind patriotism, fashion, and even disco. Yet unlike many of their new-school contemporaries, the band are not so much politicized as disgruntled; in their world, nihilism still rules with all the frenzied fun that inevitably entails. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, AMG

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Album Info Released Genre Label Producer	: : : :	Mar 20, 2001 Punk rock Hellcat Records U.S. Bombs

Righteously angry but not without humor, the U.S. Bombs offer up more retro British punk with The World, a crackling collection of anthems that bears so much resemblance to early Clash at times that it's a shock to hear Duane Peters' careful Joe Strummer imitation intoning "I'm proud to be an American" on "Yanks & Rebs," even if he is being sarcastic. Still, in spite of the formula, the cuts that ape the Clash's sense of political outrage are the strongest here; songs about skateboards, motorcycles, and sex just don't hit quite as hard when they sit next to passionate declamations against war and poverty (even if it's rather easy to be against both of those). And with the extended, gentle opening of "Hobroken Dreams," the band proves that it has a few tricks of its own. Overall, though, one can't help but detect a certain sameness to the proceedings the longer the album plays. ` Steve Huey, AMG

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Album Info Released Genre Label Producer	: : : :	Jun 15, 1999 Punk rock Hellcat Records Fletcher Dragge

Huntington Beach Punk

Personnel: Duane Peters (vocals); Chuck Briggs, Kerry Martinez (guitar, background vocals); Chip Hanna (drums, background vocals); Wade Walston (background vocals).

Recording information: Music Box Studios, Hollywood, CA.

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Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	September 1997 Punk rock 40:41 Hellcat Records

The title (and the "dedicated to the memory of Sid Vicious" inscription) aren't the only indicators that these guys hold the Sex Pistols in high regard. The music is anthemic guitar punk with vitriolic vocals and regular choruses, though it's not bound to make anyone forget the original article. ~ Richie Unterberger, AMG

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Album Info Released Genre Length Label Producer	: : : : :	Jan. 1997 Punk rock 27:12 Alive Records Patrick Boissel, U.S. Bombs

Tracklist:
01 Time Is Loose (Intro)
02 World On The Run
03 The Way It Is
04 Holly Cost
05 Mob Family
06 Bubble Gum
07 Just A Mess
08 Dime Runner
09 Demolition Girl
10 Walking Blind
11 Rockets
12 All The Fun
13 Academy
14 Rumble Beach (Live)

This revisited version of Put Strength in the Final Blow: The Disaster Edition appears on Duane Peters' own Disaster imprint. It features updated artwork, a clutch of entertaining liner notes from Peters himself (including the history behind each song), remixed versions of nine tracks from the original release, as well as the U.S. Bombs' debut 7", which fell out of print after its original pressing of 1,000. All of this makes Put Strength essential for any U.S. Bombs supporter. But the record can also act as a primer for anyone wondering just what Peters and his band are all about. The reverb, overdubbing, and general 1990s malaise of the album's first go-round have been replaced with a newfound tautness -- "Mob Family" and "The Way It Is" snap to like a newly-shortened hangman's rope. In fact, the drier sound employed here makes the U.S. Bombs sound even more like their 1977 punk heroes. Peters' Johnny Rotten/Joe Strummer sneer is fine-tuned to the syllable. His leering of "baby boomer sluts" (from "Holly Cost") sails like a loogie over muscular backing vocals -- throw in the slashing guitar of Kerry Martinez, and all of a sudden it's London's Marquee Club setting up shop at the bottom of a California half-pipe. "Bubble Gum" genuflects faithfully to The Clash, while "All The Fun" and "Academy" (both from the 1994 debut) will make you hide the good china for fear of smashing it in an impromptu living room mosh-pit. The U.S. Bombs are derivative, sure. But their admiration/emulation of their heroes is admirable, especially when the results are this solid. Besides, you can't fault a guy as honest as Peters. Referring to "Rocket" in the liners, he gets close to defining what's great about the U.S. Bombs: "Same old s*** as later," he writes. "Cool as hell song, but you know/Worlds ending/Live now/Quit watching yer [sic] T.V.s/Blah blah, nobody cares, HAH! I dig it though!" ~ Johnny Loftus, AMG