Buck-O-Nine
Pass The Dutchie EP
[TVT]
Rating: 4.9
Last Friday night some friends from the school paper came over for a good
old- fashioned bitch session called to order by my pal's breakup with his
girlfriend the day before, another pal's roommate problems, and the two
Ds I got on two geology exams in one week. Much alcohol was consumed and
many weird movies were watched, and gratuitous recreational narcotics were
ingested. I put on Pass The Dutchie, and everyone paused from their
brain- cell destruction long enough to comment, "This is cool, man. What is
it?" It was all very jolly.
Today, I played the EP again and to my profound displeasure it wasn't half as
good as I remembered. Then I recalled the first time I saw them in concert:
shortly before we entered the auditorium, we headed out to my partner's car
and hotboxed it like no cramped space had been hotboxed before. I made the
connection between that night and Friday's revelry, and Buck-O-Nine's spot
on the bitchin' scale dropped at a rapid rate. Not a good sign.
Best known for their single "My Town" (a right good tune), the septet barely
steers clear of the cliched, formulaic Wal-Mart ska annoyance of No Doubt and
Save Ferris. I'm surprised they don't have an obnoxious- windbag lead singer
and a useless guy who does nothing but dance. The guitars have more presence
here than on previous outings, but they're starting to sound like 311 on a
panful of freshly- cooked crack. It's lively, yes, but the ska craze is as
old and tired as President Clinton is horny. So, if you don't mind, I've gotta
go pass this Dutchie to my local used record store.
-Susan Moll