#149   March ‘08 Alrighty folks, here’s the deal. We are moving from our palatial digs in Connecticut for a pod in Arizona. You have until March 15 to finish up orders because after that everything will be in storage for a month and by the time we get settled into the desert, it will be close to May. We’ll be back then with some New Shit and more than likely it will be all 7". If all goes well there’ll be time enough to list a good bit of Old Shit that’s been hangin’ around for far too long. Bored while we’re gone? Check out the Rapid Pulse page. It’s finally cleaned up with info on all release dates and pressing runs and colored vinyl info etc. But wait! What’s this about a Sleazies LP? That’s right, the Sleazies debut LP is finally on vinyl. As I type this, it’s not quite out yet, but will be while were gone. Contact the band to get your copy! Young People With Faces LP repressed - 100 copies pink vinyl! The ringing endorsement of smalltime jackoffs like me is about as useful as an erection in church. But when Jeff fucking Magnum (who saw, heard, and played with dozens of first generation punk greats) busts a nut for your band, that really means something. And while listening to a recording is hardly a substitute for experiencing the dynamic live force that so impressed the former Dead Boy, it'll have to do until next summer, when Young People With Faces get the chance to hit the road again. Rapid Pulse Records has released the vinyl version of the young foursome's debut CD, an album that sounds even better to my ears now than it did nine months ago. I'm still taken by how "authentic" YPWF's take on 1977 American punk sounds. These days, even the most slavish and reverential old-punk revivalists tend to sound like blatant imitators. You can usually tell it's a new band trying to copy the old sound. But Young People With Faces could honestly pass for the real thing. In no way do the past 30 years of musical and technological innovations infect their sound. Maybe it's the straight-from-tape analog recording. Maybe it's Simone Kastners' scintillating buzzsaw guitar. Maybe it's Sophia Dilley's uncanny resemblance (voice-wise) to a young Debbie Harry. But probably it's just a case (a la Ramones, Stooges) of a band having just the right amount of talent and musical skill - coupled with an abundance of attitude, nerve, and unfettered youthful exuberance. That's punk. Or at least that's what punk used to be. This is the kind of record that only teenagers could have pulled off. The playing is simple, yet totally inspired, rocking, and bursting with raw power. Played by "grown-ups", a song like "Stay 17" would sound utterly ridiculous. But coming from (then) high schoolers, it not only rings true but also excites that part of all of us that really has stayed 17. And the record as a whole is refreshingly devoid of poses or affectations. It's just young kids playing songs about bei ng young kids, and the honesty and energy of it all is a joy to behold. It sounds like they're having great fun, but you can tell they're making music that really means something to them (check out "American Dream"). Dilley is terrific on vocals - expressive and urgent, but only deigning to the piercing scream thing when it's absolutely necessary. And while it would be foolish to say the band equals the greatness of the groups it emulates (Avengers, Blondie, X), this is a really good punk album by any standard of measurement. As I know from experience, making music in a straight '77 punk style is a lot harder than it seems. I failed - but these kids did not! The future of Young People With Faces remains unclear to me. One hears a band with such promise and logically hopes for development - improved musicianship, a less derivative sound, better songs, etc. And given the reaction of Mr. Magnum, it's clear that Young People With Faces have already come a long way since the recording of this album. But sometimes bands of this type are at their best when they're really young and kinda have to wing it. Sometimes bands like this learn how to play, and then everything goes to shit. Sometimes they distance themselves from the simplicity and energy that made them great in the first place, all in the name of maturity. Still, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this won't happen with YPWF. There's one new track on the LP that's exclusive to the vinyl, "I Didn't Die". And it absolutely smokes! Seriously, if this one doesn't have you pumping your fist and singing along, you don't like punk rock! You can hear how much tighter and more powerful the band has become. T he music is faster and fiercer, yet instilled with the same spirit and enthusiasm that makes the earlier material so very exhilarating. It leads me to believe that the next stage for this band is to take what they've done so far and just push it to the next level. The first time, they succeeded in making music in the same vein as their heroes'. Next time, maybe they make a record as good as their heroes'. ...This is assuming they don't all come home from college next year and decide that the Korn/Limp Bizkit/Woodstock '99 rape rock sound should be their new focus of inspiration. ---Lord Rutledge October 4, 2006 If BLONDIE had turned down their major label deal, listened obsessively to THE STOOGES, moved to L.A., and put out a single on DANGERHOUSE records, they definitely would have sounded like YOUNG PEOPLE WITH FACES --Lord Rutledge, NOW WAVE MAGAZINE January 2006

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