The Loudmouths

(New Red Archives)
by Scott Hefflon

Beth Loudmouth (formerly Beth Allen of Cockpit) teams up with Dulcinea Loudmouth, Jay Loudmouth, and Pete Loudmouth, to form, not surprisingly, The Loudmouths. Their debut record (17 songs, 29 minutes, you do the math!) is a gorgeously unpolished testament to the power of three-chord punk rock. Recorded on a four or eight-track (conflicting stories), their ’80s scream-punk mixes with a bit of surf and rockabilly on this high energy distort-o-rama, but naming The Cramps and Ramones as points of reference is terribly misleading. Their tattooed Rude Girl stance is backed by the chaotic recording and one-take group screeches. This is hard wood without all the shiny lacquer. The rawer the better. The songs rip their own sheer power, attitude, and energy. The all-capital quote at the bottom of their bio says, “Fuck all these new wimpy pop bands that get labeled ‘punk’!!!” Consider this a must-get.