It's very, very hard to produce good punk music. It's not that punk is hard music to write, mind you. I mean, let's face it-- you take some fast, heavy guitars, some insane drumming, and you pass the mic to the hoarsest sounding motherfucker you can find-- it's as basic as that. And I'm not insulting the genre by saying that, that's how it's supposed to be. The best punk music is simple, straightforward, no bullshit. So you take the above ingredients, add one roomful of pissed-off kids dancing along to the noise, blend for one hour, and come out with one top-notch punk rock experience.

Think it sounds easy? Then why are there so many groups of inarticulate, leather-clad jack-offs screaming because their moms won't pay for their pool to be cleaned? Why aren't there more kick-ass bands like the U.S. Bombs or the Swingin' Utters out there, tearing shit up? I guess it's probably because making good punk rock is the musical equivalent of turning lead into gold, and very few bands have the necessary Midas touch.

The problem comes with credibility. Almost anyone can mimic the punk sound, so the only way to separate the classics from the crap is by good old fashioned soul, and occasionally, by street cred. This is where the chaps in Bombshell Rocks pull through-- they're full of soul, they've got street cred coming out of the yin, and they've even got good music in tow.

Street Art Gallery is everything a good punk CD should be: fast, brutal, simple, by-the-book punk rock, the way it was intended to be. Listening to this album is like slipping on a pair of your oldest sneakers-- they're kind of worn, they stink all to hell, they're falling apart, and they sure as shit don't match the style of the times, but they're so damn comfortable you can never bring yourself to throw 'em out with the trash.

Like all good punk, Bombshell Rocks get you good and fired up with their M-16 drum beats and heavy guitar work. Marten, the voice of the band, barks out his vocals like an underfed guard-dog while sticking to the harmonies like a pro. The music and vocals meld together perfectly in Dwarves-length song flashes. They're little gems of punk creativity. Even Street Art Gallery's lyrics-- never punk music's strong suit-- are above average as the band waxes poetic on such topics as the joy of listening to old soul music ("The Will, The Message"), rock music's power to give you the courage to get out of your hometown ("Same Streets"), and grubby street urchins living in the city ("Where We Gather"). It may not be Shakespeare, but it's not like you can really hear what the guy's saying, anyway.

Nope, these guys are anything but pioneers. In fact, this music is so deeply rooted in Sex Pistols and Ramones nostalgia you can almost hear echoes of "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" in the reverb. But even though Bombshell Rocks are attempting the reinvention of the wheel, at least they have the prototype and know what the damn thing is supposed to do. That alone makes this album worth at least a single listen, and possibly several more if this is your type of thing.

-Steven Byrd