Like their live act, Four is as fun, enervating, loose, and roots-infused as the LP they left us with, 1980's Rockin' at Ground Zero. Recorded in 2003 but only released in 2009 (fittingly on old What? Records purveyor Chris Ashford's Wondercap), its three new originals (plus a wonderfully punked-up cover of Chuck Berry's 1958 number two "Sweet Little Sixteen" -- reclaiming it from nearby Hawthorne's Beach Boys 1963 number three "Surfin' USA" conversion) could serve as bonus tracks on a Rockin' reissue without complaint. As anyone who's seen him (or his other, also-reunited Controllers) knows, classic axe-man Kidd Spike is an evergreen-riffing maniac storming through this vinyl, the right man for the right format. Moreover, decades have failed to dull frontman Axxel G. Reese's natural wildman act, as comically madcap as he is throaty-good. Original bassist Brian Redz remains rock-solid, too, and incestuous fill-in Sean Antillon is an even match for AWOL (but later returned) Dave Drive. Wow-ee.
© Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover /TiVo