VARSITY WEIRDOS, THE - Can't Go Home (CD)
The Varsity Weirdos are back with their fourth release and first full-length album for It’s Alive Records. When everything has been done, go back to the start and do it again. Do it right. Do it better than it’s been done before. When it comes to classic pop punk it all starts and ends with the Ramones. The Varsity Weirdos are one of the few bands hanging from the Ramones family tree that somehow manage to take what’s been done, but make it sound all their own - a rare feat in the post Screeching Weasel and Queers world. They don’t do it by adding uneccesary extras for the sake of it. They don’t do it by merging the tried and true with some new and improved garbage. They simply do it by playing true to what they love. Sincerity goes a long way in a genre filled mostly with songs about bubblegum and the junior prom. You either hate the genre or you love it - there’s very little room for fence-sitting. Can’t Go Home might not make converts out of any of the haters, but it’s sure to serve as a strong reminder to all the lovers why they still give a shit about classic pop punk.