December 2, 1999
Although scores of punk-pop bands body-surfed in the wake of Nevermind, they all shared the same M.O: taking the basic framework of punk and injecting enough pop to make it palatable for the masses. The phenomenal (and tragically obscure) Walt Mink reverse the equation to stunning effect; instead of sweetening punk, the trio takes pure white china pop and makes it rock like The Replacements on adrenachrome.
Orestes Morfin drums with enough intricate fury to make Art Blakey's Night in Tunisia seem like an evening at the Pops, and Candice Belanof plays bass like she steals Bootsy Collins' lunch money to buy strings. Still, leader John Kimbrough holds the band's twin secret weapons - a jaw-dropping, prodigious guitar attack free of preening showmanship and a plaintive, almost whiney voice that, when laid atop this furious hyper-pop sets up a sweetly howling aural frisson that simply must be heard to be believed. A diametric point of reference might be James Hetfield fronting Air Supply.
The in-your-face corker "Stood Up", swinging anthem "Everything Worthwhile" and grimy riffing of "Overgrown" are balanced by the gently acoustic "Settled" which plays like Jimmy Page whittling some Norwegian Wood, but most of the album is as tightly rolled and gradually addictive as the eponymous El Productos. This is the non-stoppin-est, body-rockin-est guitar album you've never heard.
- Jared O'Connor
Pop rocks