U.S. Roughnecks – Twenty Bucks and Two Black Eyes / 2004 Hellcat / 14 Tracks / http://www.usroughnecks.com / http://www.hell-cat.com / Reviewed 29 August 2004
I really wasn’t too hooked into the vibe that the U.S. Roughnecks exuded through my first few listens to the album. However, after I finally got to sit down and listen to “Twenty Bucks” carefully, I’ve really figured out what the band reminds me – slightly more surf-influenced, the Roughnecks definitely are in the same vein as Defiance and Virus Nine. Gravelly vocals (thrown out by Mikey) find some catchy harmonies and provide a low to the noisy and loud guitars laid down by Kemal and Gabe. Even if the topic has been tackled too many times to count in the recent memory of punk, “Serve and Protect”, with its chorus of “fuck the cops” (seven times, mind you) and the Matt Freeman-styled bass lines that are pretty much everywhere on “Twenty Bucks”. While the music may be hared to approach as it seemingly does not fit into the traditional school of thought about which things make a song memorable, the Roughnecks are one of the most technically proficient bands that are currently on Epitaph/Hell-Cats roster, save for Bad Religion and C.AARME.
The Roughnecks seamlessly join together the Ramones (with a track like “Roughneck Noise” coming from the same wellspring as the Switchblade Kittens’ “My Dad’s A Janitor”) with Conflict. The mix of “Twenty Bucks” is different from most of the “professional” mixes that most pop-punk and emo bands have, in that all instruments are turned up as loud as they can go, with the effect being a more live experience that one can gain with perfectly leveled instruments and the latest production team on their project. While all the music on “Twenty Bucks” fits into an extremely narrow sound and style (something intentional that the U..S. Roughnecks most likely intended), the fourteen tracks of the disc are compelling, nay catchy enough to keep an audience throughout the disc.
With all of the new projects that Epitaph and Hell-Cat have approached in the last few years, the U.S. Roughnecks are a welcome addition to the label, bringing back to the forefront a style of punk that has been obscured in recent years by pop-punk, emo-rock, and generally talentless crust punk. The infusion of rockabilly guitar lines on “Twenty Bucks” really shows the band’s aptitude for arrangement and open-mindedness in terms of musical forms that have fallen out of favor in the last decade or so. A strong album that never once fails to disappoint, really making me wonder where the U.S. Roughnecks can go from here.
Top Tracks: Serve and Protect, Roughneck Noise
Rating: 7.8/10