In the church of Ramone, Green Day are merely slick televangelists; Chixdiggit, on the other hand, are high priests dispensing communion in the form of Born on the First of July's thirteen crunchy punk- pop wafers. These four Canadian lads preach the gospel the way Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky would have wanted it: fast, loud, over in less than three minutes, and served up with a goofy grin. Chixdiggit clearly has little patience for things like third verses, bridges, and repeated choruses, since Born on the First of July doesn't even break the 30- minute mark; still, all the better to listen to it twice before the hour's up.

With a wall- of- Marshall- stacks guitar sound that could only have been created by amps stolen from Weezer's rehearsal space while Rivers Cuomo was busy moping around in his bedroom, tracks like "Julianne" and "Ohio" are as sticky, buzzy and sweet as an espresso lollipop. You might find yourself questioning the artistic merit of the 25- second- long "Quit Your Job," or wonder if "Brunette Summer" strays a little too close to hair- metal- ballad territory, but you'll probably be too busy pogoing the night away to notice. Can you dig it?

-Nick Mirov