The Low Budgets
"Aim Low, Get High"

Punk rock is dead. All of you need to admit it. It may come back every few years with one last death rattle, but you need to realize that it is dead. That said, there are still a handful of bands who are carrying on that punk rock torch…and god bless them
for it. One of those few good bands that don’t piss me off is the Low Budgets. Here we have 4 dudes from Philadelphia (from here on out, to be called Chilladelphia) who know what damn good punk rock is. We’ve got pounding 1-2-1-2 drums, simple 3 chord guitars, a bass that follows the lead while adding punchiness…and a keyboard. I know what you’re thinking, “Hey bro, keyboards aren’t punk rock.” My response is to say, “True, traditionally keyboards were shunned by the punk rock community, but I suggest that you open your mind to innovations within the punk rock genre.” Trust me, the keyboard shit works. And besides, every band has keyboards now, so maybe the public is ready for their punk rock to have some keyboards. Stylistically, this band hails from the Screeching Weasel / Dead Milkmen pedigree of punk rock, which means if you don’t like your punk rock poppy, you shouldn’t listen, but it would be your loss.

This album has a bunch of great qualities. It reminds
me a lot of what I was listening to in high school, and everyone loves a bit of nostalgia. But what I
really love about this album, are the lyrical subjects. The lyrics themselves aren’t particularly insightful, but that doesn’t even matter. The genius of this album lies in that it is a song for the everyman. They sing about things we can all relate to. Their songs cover corporate greed (“Whistle Blower”), consumerism (“New and Improved”), stupid dead pets (“Stupid Dead Kitty”), and frivolous lawsuits (“Lawsuit”) among other things. My only complaint about this album is the length. The album has 15 songs (including an intro, outro, and 2 instrumentals) and is still less than 30 minutes long. That’s just bullshit.

Did I mention that Joe from the Dead Milkmen is in the band? I didn’t? Well, he is, so go buy this cd. You’ll be better for it.

Reviewed by: Josh Goldfarb
Reviewed on: April 17, 2005