Often compared to
Black Flag,
Wasted Youth was a great punk band in its own right and was among the exciting bands to come from the Los Angeles punk scene of the late '70s/early '80s. If you're looking for slickness, you won't find it on
Reagan's In, a ten-song EP that first came out in 1981.
Reagan's In is about as raw as it gets -- not only does the production (or lack of production) reject slickness completely, but also, the lyrics are extremely raw, direct, and gut-level. This is true of snarling socio-political rants like the title song (an inflammatory attack on President Ronald Reagan), "Born Deprived," and "Fuck Authority," as well as the crude, off-color "Uni-High Beefrag."
Wasted Youth's lyrics are about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but then, subtlety isn't what the L.A. residents were going for -- like
Black Flag,
the Circle Jerks, and other L.A. punk outfits of that era,
Wasted Youth follows its gut instincts. And on this very angry EP, those instincts serve the band well. ~ Alex Henderson