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Funny thing about punk lovers — they all like it dished out a
bit differently. Some dig it smacking, hardcore and harsh; some want
it sweetly sugarcoated in pop; some crave it relished with abstract
noise, and others savor it dressed up in rockabilly licks and
stomping country beats. Often punk connoisseurs are quite picky,
refusing to venture outside their punk of choice, fearing they might
be left with a nasty aftertaste.
But The Martinets — a punk rock foursome led by Daniel Rey (who
worked with The Ramones and produced Joey Ramone's posthumous album)
— cook up a recipe undedicated to a narrow purist sound. It's
not hardcore, it's not pop-punk, it's not retro-punk — what it
is is downright good punk likely to satisfy the choosiest of
punk fans.
The New York City band — guitarist Rey, bassist Dave
Rick, drummer Roger Murdock and singer/guitarist Eamon Bowles — manage
to be melodic and catchy without being too foo-foo glitter-pop. They
bring an experienced might to their rock without being too droning
or, God forbid, boring. And when they borrow from the New York Dolls
and The Replacements, they even somehow escape coming across as
thieves.
New Stories for Men, the band's second full-length, is simple,
infectious, skilled and passionate. These guys know what they're
doing. Rey played guitar in Masters of Reality and the Ronnie Spector
Band, and worked with The Ramones over the years while each of his
bandmates were playing in numerous previous groups. Driven by
fast-fingered, Johnny Thunder-style guitar playing and rockin' beats,
"Levitation" sounds like it could be off The Replacements' Pleased
to Meet Me, but lyrically recalls The Pixies ("levitate me,"
anyone?). Likely the most glam-tinged of the bunch, "You're So
Perfect" has dark beats, a grinding riff and a hilariously pathetic
lyric: "Now you're so cool/ And I'm still in art school/ Salivating
in my dreams/ You're so perfect it's killing me/ Go on, go ahead/ Go
to Paris/ Go to Paris/ Leave me stupid and embarrassed/ I can take
it, I can take it." The ballad "The Finer Things" sways on a sad
guitar line, drum rolls and remorseful singing: "Should've been
arrested/ For the way I treated you."
New Stories for Men combines melody and emotion with powerful
guitar rock for a concoction that allows all us punk fans to get
along just fine.
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