400 Blows
Angel’s Trumpets and Devil’s Trombones (Gold Standard Labs)
by Scott Hefflon
400 Blows blows. I realize that’s not very clever, but neither is this band. Someone from the L.A. Weekly supposedly called these guys the best punk band in Los Angeles in 2003, so either someone doesn’t know shit, or they were on deadline and grabbed the first CD in the stack. It happens. I know what 400 Blows is going for, scuzzy rock, minimalist banging and off-kilter jerkiness. Thanks. I have dozens of CDs from AmRep and Touch & Go that did it far better over a decade ago. These guys would be the first opener on the bill in those days. Have we really lowered our standards this much?
(www.goldstandardlabs.com)