The Queers - Munki Brain (2007) RESTORED

×

The Queers - Munki Brain (2007) RESTORED

Close

The Queers - Munki Brain (2007)
WV+CUE+LOG or MP3 CBR 320 | 31:07 min | 237 or 71 MB
Produced by Mass Giorgini. Asian Man Records # ASM 141 CD

Long-running pop-punkers the Queers are either the smartest bunch of dumb punks or the dumbest bunch of a smart guys around. The truth remains undetermined as of 2007's Munki Brain, the band's 15th album over the course of three decades. Knuckleheads with hearts has always been the band's calling card, and tracks such as "I Think She's Starting to Like Me", "I Can't Stay Mad at You", and "Girl About Town" don't disappoint, offering witty takes on Rock & Roll and girls at a classic, blitzkrieg-bopping pace.

×

The Queers - Munki Brain (2007) RESTORED

Close

Yes, "pop-punk" has gone light years beyond the point of parody and annoyance by the early 21st century. It seems like every time you switch on MTV, there's some new group of barely pubescent gentlemen with spiffy duds and freshly primped Mohawks performing singalong nursery songs. But a band like the Queers is a different beast entirely, as they helped create the style that is now commonplace – merging punk riffs with power pop hooks. And they're still at it on their umpteenth release, 2007's Munki Brain. Unlike the younger pop-punk bands, the Queers have obviously studied their power pop of yore, as the album-opening "Overdue" sounds like it could have fit on an early Cheap Trick album. But on the other hand, songs such as "Girl About Town" would sound simply dandy being blasted from a stage on the Warped Tour in the mid-afternoon. And you've got to love a band that isn't afraid to let its admiration of surf music and doo wop come shining through, as the band does on "I Can't Stay Mad at You". As the Queers prove throughout Munki Brain, not all pop-punk is annoying rubbish.

~ Greg Prato, all media guide