DEK – Boner / 2004 Finger Records/ 17 Tracks / http://www.dekpunk.com / http://www.fingerrecords.com / Reviewed 11 December 2004

Probably the youngest band with a record deal, DEK plays a style of music that lost most of its fan before the band was born. Hell, before even this review was born, the 82/streetpunk of DEK is refreshing in a pop-fed world. Each track speeds forward to its inevitable conclusion, and few tracks break the three-minute barrier. Their age has nothing to do with their music besides what one of The Skulls said on their “Monsters Crash The Party!” DVD – they are pure, uncorrupted by the lure of money or other diversions from their love, even momentarily. The band has more cohesion that most bands that have been grinding it out for years, with each track one step away from perfection. Instead of being dominated by a strong vocal or guitar presence, each track on “Boner” is communistic with each member contributing equally to the finished product.

The incredible amount of diversity between tracks on “Boner” is yet another reason that this album is one of the most memorable of the year. “I Hate DEK” breaks away from the general sound of the disc by infusing Nick’s bass lines with a reggae rhythm, and each of “Boner’s” 17 cuts use the same energy to put the disc into another plateau. The mastering on “Boner” is one of the most lush that a recent punk album has enjoyed (besides maybe Leftover Crack’s “Fuck World Trade”), and why the FCC will block a number of these tracks to hit the air in their unadulterated forms, DEK straddles the line between artistic integrity and pure catchiness in much the same way as their ancestors in The Ramones and Dead Kennedys did.

DEK puts what is commonly called punk on its head. Instead of doing another shitty Blink 182 or Good Charlotte cover band, DEK has dug through their parents’ old records and pulled out The Partisans, The Skulls, Condemned 84, Dead Kennedys, and The Germs. The cohesiveness and musical virtuosity captured on this disc belies the fact that these kids are so young. They have a long future ahead of them and are at the verge of hitting it big, so I have no doubt that they will be a powerful creative force in punk music for decades to follow. Check out this album, for in twenty years individuals may be putting “Boner” alongside (GI), London’s Calling, Nevermind the Bullocks, and the like.

Top Tracks: I Hate DEK, World Domination

Rating: 8.6/10