The Burnouts – Close to Break Evil – Review

The Burnouts

Close to Break Evil (Bad Afro)
by Jon Sarre

I fugget why, but The Burnouts‘ debut, Go Go Racing, just didn’t do it for me. I think it was cuz I overdosed on Scan Rock the week before. Now that I take that stuff in moderation (it’s the twelve-step Turbonegro plan; try it sometime), this new disc sounds pretty fuckin’ bad ass (or Bad Afro), tho’ so did the stuff they did on Pushing Scandinavian Rock to the Man Vol II, so mebbe Close to Break Evil is just plain better than the first one. Yeah, yeah, it’s all snotty outtabreath over-amped punk rock’n’roll pumped out by Danes who probably enjoy gettin’ fuckin’ outtacontrol cuz ya just don’t thinka Denmark that way (what do ya think of, cheese and butter cookies, right?). Someone at their label seems to think they’ve got a little pop in ’em, but I think he’s makin’ that up, ‘specially on “What I Want” where they play re-e-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-lly fast (as opposed to just sorta fast) and the sleaze appeal of “Return of the Actionman” isn’t exactly somethin’ that Max Martin guy is genetically engineerin’ up in Sweden, right? Neither is the pretty self-explanatory “Bad Blood” or “Out of Control” or, for that matter, the dirt track mini-epic “You Lose.” And the Ramones cover, “Carbona, Not Glue,” even the Ramones couldn’t keep that on Leave Home.
(www.badafro.dk)