ALBUM REVIEW ~ BOMB CATS ~ 'THIRD STREET MELODY'

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Punk rock band The Bombcats released their latest EP earlier in the summer (June 3 rd ) titled Third Street Melody, a five-track collection of old-school punk chords and glam rock songwriting. Following the likes of punk icons like Generation X and Social Distortion, the band’s sound may come off as something we’ve all heard before but in this case that’s not necessarily a negative term. The nostalgia heard in these tracks brings back memories and feelings of simpler times, packed in simple chord melodies that ring out in the traditional skater style.

First up is the album’s title track “Third Street Melody” kicking off in choppy riffs and Idol-styled vocals, low and cool with hints of glam sneering through the raw underground noise. The bass line plays the star role in “Good Advice,” a song that dwells on the changing times and asks the question of what the best way is to handle the uncertainty we face in our current lives. “Good Advice” romanticizes a past youth far gone while still holding onto the good things. “Dance Miss D” throws down heavier melodies and furious drumming, the song’s story lost in the simple chorus and verses as the music takes the lead. Blues licks roar, adding heat and a defining solo going all up and down the fretboard competing with the drums for power. It’s a fiery kick to the EP, with retro hard rock layers that set it apart from the other songs which stay true to their punk history.

A melodic strumming opens “Hypocrite” but don’t make no mistake, this song has just as much attitude and fury as the others on the EP. If anything, “Hypocrite” is a diss track, using both music and words as weapons aimed at its muse, whoever that may be. The I-told-you-so tone with the ever-powerful guitar solo rockets this song as an immediate banger hard to top off.

The final track on Third Street Melody titled “Flesh Fiend” is a rhythmic jam with a touch of rockabilly soul. “Flesh Fiend” ties the entire EP together as a packaged compilation of rhythm and blues with a good ol’ fashioned bite of raw punk energy. Every piece from the drumming to the lyrics, the guitar solos and mighty bass lines, to the vocalist’s cool harmonies and sneers bring this band and album together, and shows the pure effort of all thrown in. Third Street Melody may be a throwback to the alternative hard rock songs we all grew up with but there’s a fresh take discovered here that’s worth listening to for those in need of a solid summer mixtape.

I’m Music Magazine Writer Alice Kearney