I get a lot of stuff via email and usually don't open most things. I've too busy (tired) here in Hong Kong to spend too much time on the blog anymore. So when I do it's got to be for something I really want to highlight.
And D.C.'s Black Checker are certainly worth highlighting. These boys rock!
A prior opening act for Dot Dash, Black Checker are creating a similar sort of postpunk racket. Their PR name-drops Ted Leo, Husker Du, and The Replacements but I'll throw out another name: Chisel. Maybe D.C.'s Chisel went in more of a mod direction but the comparison is apt otherwise.
The 6 songs on Black Checker's new Fast EP are blasts of power-pop with nods to Green Day and that one Marvelous 3 record that was so good...the one with the hits.
I really dig stuff like this.
"Never Doesn't Mean Someday" is pure Candy Apple Grey-era Husker Du but with a twist: it's like Grant Hart taking over on a Bob Mould-penned riff-fest. It's a scorcher.
"Blick Bladger" and "A New Way" bring in a subtle ska influence but keep things rocking. These tunes are punchy, catchy, and shots of pure pop adrenaline.
"Can't Let Go" is a bit harder but it's still hummable. This is the cut that made me think of bands like Butch Walker's Marvelous 3. The bridge of the tune brings back another hint of Grant Hart's Husker Du songs. Really, this is the sort of thing I wish I could hear on Top 40 radio when I'm driving down the highway.
"Man Enough", like a few of these tunes, has a hint of Green Day. I suppose I should add that that hint is the "Geek Stink Breath"-Green Day and not the "Wake Me Up When September Ends"-Green Day.
"Bagel Girl" made me think of Joe Jackson, of all things. If somehow Joe Jackson had stuck to his new wave roots...and maybe taken over vocal duties for The Buzzcocks, that is. It's a punchy little tune that's near damn impossible to dislodge from your head once you've heard it. That bridge is like early XTC or something. It's really an awesome mix of a lot of influences, all good.
Follow Black Checker on their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/blackcheckerband
And go to the listening party on Friday if you can.
