Goldblade
“Punk Rockers in the Dancehall”
SOS

Goldblade’s heyday may have been in the late ’90s, but this band of brit bandits are still waving their punk flag a decade later. “Punk Rock in the Dancehall” is pure Clash-style punk rock. Sure the band might try a little too hard to capture the spirit of their heroes, but there are way worse bands to sound like.

This record is actually a US-released compilation of the best tracks the band has released on the other side of the Atlantic. For most of the album, the band stay true to punk form, with machine gun fast riffs, bombastic drum beats, and immature yet fun lyrics. “Hairstyle” is the exception–The band sound like they were teleported to a ’70s porno when they made it. Lots of funky rhythms and a wah wah that just won’t stop.

The record works nicely from front to back. The first few tracks sound like a mature band that has clearly found its voice, while the latter songs (working backwards through their career) come off sounding like the bands they wanted to emulate. What is impossible to ignore is the British influence. “Punk Rockers in the Dancehall” is a definitive soundtrack of British punk, from the cockney accents, to the catchy rhythms, to the snot-nose arrogance. This doesn’t sound like a band that was taught how to rock, they sound like band born to rock.