album by Owen Adamcik
Fourteen songs. Twenty-one minutes.
That tells you quite a bit about Owen’s Underground Rock n Roll before you even hit play.
Owen Adamcik makes short, loose, ridiculously catchy songs that get in, find a riff, hammer a hook and get out. Some barely make it past a minute. “Alien” doesn’t even get that far.
There’s punk, power pop, indie rock, garage rock, 60s pop, psychedelia and a couple of instrumentals thrown in.
At different points his music made me think about the Ramones, Buzzcocks, the Clash, New York Dolls, the Cramps, the Creation, Violent Femmes, Wreckless Eric, Robyn Hitchcock, Weezer, Spacemen 3 and even Jack White.
There’s a common thread running through most of it. Adamcik understands how much great punk music is really just great pop music played faster, louder and rougher.
“Track 1” gets things moving with just over a minute of chunky guitar, pounding drums, organ and a little surf-rock flavor. It has a great groove.
“Let Me Be Who I Am” takes an early 60s-style rhythm and melody, adds grungy electric guitar and an affected vocal, and turns it into a little punk anthem about being unapologetically yourself.
“I Don’t Want to See Your Face Today” and “I Don’t Like You” are louder and more aggressive. They crank everything up.
“When I Lost My Mind” is more melodic, with Adamcik carrying the tune over another blast of fast guitar. It’s got this matter-of-fact resignation about the daily grind slowly eating away at your brain.
“Learning to Be Free” stretches into 90s alternative and indie rock. Guitar parts pile on top of one another, each finding its own groove while playing off everything around it. The main chords give the song a great rhythmic drive, and Adamcik delivers one of his best vocals on the album.
“You’re Not Like Anyone Else” has crunchy guitars and a power-pop heart, wrapped around what sounds like a pretty earnest song of infatuation.
“Southern Scum Sweetheart” pushes forward on slapping drums, distorted guitars and multitracked vocals before “Owen’s Walking Theme” comes out of nowhere and completely changes the pace. It’s a cool little instrumental built around a slower groove and synth/organ sounds.
“I’m More Punk Than You” might be the most fun song here, using a Replacements kind of vibe to let everyone know there is no uniform for being a punk.
“Alien” manages to get its entire point about alienation across in about 55 seconds with a fuzzed-out, catchy 60s-style guitar melody.
“Freak Show Blitz” has melodic harmonies and great guitar work while “You Don’t Like Me” is a minute and a half of fast, fuzzy guitar with a little British Invasion and psychedelia buried inside it.
“I Can’t Control Myself” strips much of that fuzz away. Suddenly everything is bright, clean and poppy. Adamcik’s vocal is smooth and melodic, and the sparse lyrics are delivered with enough heart that you can feel them.
Owen’s Underground Rock n Roll reminds me of the kind of punk records I loved discovering when I was younger. They could be rough, funny, loud, melodic, strange and completely unconcerned with sticking to one particular sound.
That wonderful loose punk energy. Get in. Find the riff. Hammer the hook. Get out before you know what hit you.
Adamcik does that 14 times in 21 minutes.
And I loved every second of it.
Verdict: Solid
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