On their self-titled fifth album, Boston’s STREET DOGS bring a healthy dose of punk rock fury to the masses without showing the signs of age that many bands display by album number five.
Their second release through Epitaph offshoot HELLCAT RECORDS (due out August 31, 2010) finds the band (fronted by former DROPKICK MURPHYS vocalist MIKE McCOLGAN) working a groove that in other circumstances could be considered “played-out,” but here sounds completely fresh.
“Rattle and Roll” gets the record moving with it’s lightning beats and traditional punk rock flair, while “Up the Union” is a fight song with it’s chrous chants and fist-pump-inducing rally points. And those are just the first two proper songs on the disc past the “intro.”
There are anthems abound, with tracks like “Freedom” (love the groove that hits about 43 seconds in) and the slightly western-flavored “Ghosts” as highlights of a rock-solid 18-song set (digital versions will have bonus cuts).
If one song on this album could sum it all up, it would be “Punk Rock And Roll”…
“We all need a little punk rock and roll – the kind that makes you wanna break some bones. It doesn’t really matter what the singer says, as long as punk rock is beating in those heads…“
One of the few truly great punk albums of 2010.
Rating: 4.5./5
