After the initial blitz of U.K. punk bands circa 1977, and the smaller and much more insular wave of early '80s bands that eventually coalesced under the catchall term Oi!, punk rock largely went underground in Great Britain. With the U.S. being a larger and more populous country with a stronger D.I.Y. network, it was more possible for various cities to maintain strong local punk scenes in the states through the '80s and '90s, when the British punk scene seemed to be limited to a small handful of old-school purists. That makes
Goldblade just that much more interesting. Formed in the U.K. around 1996 by singer/songwriter John Robb, former frontman of the
Membranes (the missing link between the scrappy indie pop of the
Television Personalities and some of the early Creation Records bands, and the art/punk rock attitude of the
Three Johns, the
Fall, 1000 Mexicans and other more challenging, noisy bands of the period),
Goldblade are strictly old-school punk rock, just not of the type that most Americans think of when they hear that description. From the
Sex Pistols on down, British punk bands had a more overt love for good old-fashioned rock and roll than the more abrasive American hardcore bands that followed. Bands like
Stiff Little Fingers and
Alternative TV mixed rabble-rousing lyrics and upfront performances with genuine pop song hooks,and catchy shout-along choruses.
Goldblade's American debut,
Strictly Hardcore, continues this tradition in style. A compilation of the best tracks from three previous UK releases,
Strictly Hardcore is an all-meat, no-filler collection of 15 solid pieces of melodic punk,like the soaring "Dream the Vicious Dream" (a sarcastic riposte to those who buy into the myths of '70s punk without considering their consequences), and the
Mekons-like clatter of "Black Elvis." Crisply produced, melodically rich, and sonically powerful,
Strictly Hardcore shows up pop-punk pretenders like
Blink 182 as the lightweight poseurs they are. ~ Stewart Mason