I’m back in the shed after a lot of disruption here at AJ’s Bungalow which means you almost missed out on today’s post…and what a barnstorming buttkicking disc it is.
Backyard Babies are in a pickle: too punk to partake in
the brief hair metal revival of the late '90s, they were likewise too glam to
hitch a ride with the vaunted Scandinavian garage rock explosion of the early
2000s. In other words, they look like Mötley Crüe's nephews and/or Good
Charlotte's uncles -- you pick. Along with the equally criminally overlooked
Hellacopters, the band represents something of a missing link in this
Scandinavian evolutionary chain, and with little hope of a happy ending in sight,
all they can do is keep rockin' on their very solid third album, 2001's Making
Enemies Is Good. And how much do Backyard Babies love to rock? Let them count
the ways: "One-two-three...four!," they shout through cracking opener
"I Love to Roll." The remaining material isn't quite as explicit, but
the message remains untainted throughout, whether they're raging through the
almost unbearably bubblegum title track, plodding through the somewhat aimless
"Colours," or reaching for inspired moments of pop-tastic nirvana on
incredible singles like "Star War" and "The Clash."
Strangely, the band's versatility is arguably also their downfall, and it's
only once the album is heard in its entirety that the sheer number of familiar
sonic references begin to pile up rather uncomfortably, giving rise to the
question: Just who are these guys anyway? This realization can't take away from
the honest, hard-working excellence of Making Enemies Is Good, but it does
advance the doubts about Backyard Babies' eventual long-term identity. Guess
listeners will just have to wait and see.
