The Stratford Mercenaries are a band that would have appeared on the alternative British comedy, "The Young Ones." Some of you may remember that show from mid '80s reruns on MTV or the Comedy Channel. The show centered around these four college students, each from different walks of life, renting a house and having dealings with the real and surreal world.

Most episodes had a musical interlude, usually with a hip or up- and- coming rock or post-punk band on the show. Madness played on "The Young Ones." So did Dexy's Midnight Runners. So did the Damned. The Stratford Mercenaries, drawing their influences directly from the British music scene of this era, are cut from the same mold.

Some of these songs hearken to the socialist radical of the show, Rick. Although a fan of Cliff Richards, the greatest rock and roll singer ever, he had this thing for complaining about the government and the system. "Won't Get Me," with its anti- establishment lyrics, would suit Rick's social radicalism to a tee. "Your Time is Their Time" would fit Mike, the suave, debonair (in his own mind, at least) player. "Stratford Blues" would be Vyvyian's song-- he was the punk rocker with a penchant for breaking things and hitting himself with frying pans. And finally, "This is Our World" would suit the lentil- obsessed hippie, Neil.

Die-hard fans of angry British punk will get a kick out of these guys. They mesh the elements of the post-punk movement into a better- produced, somewhat tighter '90s take on the genre-- it's loud and angry, and it's got an attitude problem. Even if Steve Ignorant's vocals are tough to make out through his cockney accent, you know he's pissed at something. Gagsy, the wayward Furby turned guitar player, comes up with some great British metal- inspired licks. The backbeat is simple and uninspired. Throw in the occasional horns, reminiscent of early British ska, and you have the closest thing to an early '80s British tribute album you can get without remaking "Our House" or "Come on Eileen."

The goal of the Stratford Mercenaries seems to be to express anger, fear, distrust of the establishment, and frustration. And if that really is their goal, they succeed, whether singing about revolting against The Man or waking up with a hangover, in bed with some strange girl met in the bar the night before. Yeah, it's been said and done before, and better. But if "The Young Ones" are ever revived, the Stratford Mercenaries definitely have a spot on the bill.

-Duane Ambroz