Review - The Cute Lepers 'Can't Stand Modern Music'

Pickin' up this LP by The Cute Lepers (surely the worst band name ever, and thereby, possibly being the best?) it was obvious. It was as plain as the nose on my face. This was going to sound like 1977. Even the title, kicked onto the corner of the sleeve, 'Can't Stand Modern Music', reminds me of the first Buzzcocks LP.

So, the next problem was that, by and large, '77 was hugely overrated. The wave of punk that everyone knows as punk, because Malcolm McLaren seditwuz, was exciting in prospect and certainly better than thinkin' about bin-men on strike... but c'mon... bands basing entire careers on one year in music? If this LP looked like it sounded, we could be in a bit of bother...

...please don't sound like The Clash... please don't sound like The Clash...

In true punk fashion, I don't care about this band and their biography. What are the kicks like? Well, The Kicks are Alright. This is a punk LP, no two-ways about it. It's not hard-as-nails punk that feels like gettin' into a switchblade fight in a phonebox. This is more akin to pogoing without being spat at. 'Course, that's not a bad thing... I mean, anyone spits at me and I knock their teeth in. Anyway, this longplaya has the soundz down and the snottiness that you'd need on a Friday night gig. It's good clean punky fun. Stoopid chords and songs called 'Terminal Boredom' and 'Modern Pests'.

In fact, so close to the blueprint is this LP is that you also manage to miss the violence of truly aggresive rock 'n' roll. It's definitely art-school punk. This ain't The Stooges. This is definitely well-read punk. So what's this all mean? Well, if you want truly snotty, nihilistic punk, then this ain't it. If you want gnarled DIY evil, this ain't it. If you want a dumb, stoopid record that will wipe your brain of everything you know for a half hour, and make you conjure up a snap-shot postcard image of punk in your head, then buy this. It's not half bad and it's certainly not Green Day or some shagsackery like that... it's just a daft punk record that'll do for now.

Comments

[Murray]

I saw the Cute Lepers at the 100 Club a couple of months ago - supported by Johnny Moped and The Nipple Erectors. What a brilliant gig that was! Yeah, funtastic support groups and the Cute Lepers were GREAT too!

[Murray]

I saw the Cute Lepers at the 100 Club a couple of months ago - supported by Johnny Moped and The Nipple Erectors. What a brilliant gig that was! Yeah, funtastic support groups and the Cute Lepers were GREAT too!