Song: Intoxication
Album: Date With Death
Year: 1991
Genre: Punk
Does anyone else associate a band with the time of year or the weather? Maybe I’m nuts, but there are bands that sound right on a sunny summer day, or during the bleak winter’s cold, or while the dead leaves are falling in autumn. Badtown Boys remind me of warm weather for no particular reason. Most likely it’s because my favorite way to listen to them is by ignoring the speed limit with the windows down and the stereo cranked! This is accelerated, buzzsaw punk rock at its best! They had the remarkable ability to combine speed, melody and fury without coming off as “hardcore.” Musically, it’s like listening to Leave Home at 100mph with clean, crisp production that lets all the instruments be accounted for in the mix. The vocals, riffs and rhythms are spot freaking on, and they were much more aggressive than the megastars that came after in The Offspring, Green Day, NOFX, yet they were just as memorable and fun. The truly unique aspect of Badtown Boys is the spouting of vocalist Greg Keith. Mr. Keith’s range and style of delivery gives me flashbacks of a late 50s / early 60s greaser rock and roll. Hell, the whole band looked like extras from The Outsiders. Add in his lyrics full of tales of insubordination, wasted youth, drinking, fighting, driving and heartbreaking relationships and you have rebellious, anthemic songs to shout along to. Plain and simple, it’s fun and energetic music. Badtown Boys were sadly overlooked and now live in the land of obscurity. If rapid-fire, hooky, compact punk is your thing, I highly suggest listening to their first 3 full-length records.
Listen to "Intoxication" here.
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