Proving that there's high-octane garage-influenced punk rock north of the border, Ottawa's
Million Dollar Marxists lay it down fast, loud and with great yell-along tunes on their debut full-length,
Give It a Name. This band doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel on this album, but with stuff like this, it's not what you do so much as how you do it, and these five guys sound tight, confident and focused from front to back, and there's a heaping helping of ragged soul in Luke Nuclear's vocals and Steve Salmonella and U. Lee Mobile's joined-at-the-frets guitars. The songs really connect, too, with smart (but not too smart) lyrics and muscular tunes, especially on "Bricklayer," "Every Action" and "Le Shake."
Give It a Name is a rear stormer of a debut, and
the Million Dollar Marxists are welcome to offer up a second portion any time they're ready. Great band name, too. ~ Mark Deming