New Bomb Turks

Scared Straight (Epitaph)
by Valerie Lambert

This is one of the most interesting albums I’ve heard in a while. New Bomb Turks play an inventive blend of rockabilly and punk rock. Sort of a Jerry Lee Lewis meets the Ramones type of thing. Scared Straight is a good album, not necessarily because the music is all that extraordinary, but more because it’s different from most of what is out there right now. It’s a nice change. Actually, it’s probably vocalist Eric Davidson who will end up making or breaking this band. It’s his voice which gives the music much of its originality, but eventually that voice – those rockabilly inflections – can be grating and, yes, a trifle irritating after a while. He goes just a little bit overboard sometimes, and I really don’t think the music is going to suffer or lose any of its originality if he would just quit trying so hard to sound like a throwback to ’50s rock. Scared Straight is a strong album overall, though. Definitely the kind of album that gets better with each listen rather than one that will instantly reach out and grab you. The only song that will do that is “Telephone Numbrrr,” which not only has witty, amusing lyrics, but also happens to be the least Jerry Lee Lewis-like of all songs. New Bomb Turks do have their moments of greatness, though. The amazing pace alone makes it worth listening to. And it’s definitely a MUCH NEEDED breath of fresh air in the stagnating punk scene of the moment.