Four-Stroke

From the first chord of Four-Stroke’s latest effort, I Was A Teenage Suicide Bomber, there’s no mistaking that this rowdy group of rebels are only in it for the drunken party. Delivering straight-forward punk rock that is the meeting point between the simplicity of the Ramones, the bravado of oi and the joviality of the Dayglo Abortions, the album perfectly straddles the difficult line between hilarious comical lyrics and substantial music, something most bands fail at — either they’re funny and bad or great and overly serious. Here though, songs such as "I Wanna Be A Suburban Jihadi” and "Fuck Ottawa” are as amusing and ridiculous as they are infectious, with their borderline poppy choruses and energised, animated performances. Nothing is taboo with these confrontational, albeit intelligent, crust balls and it only makes for frolicking good fun on all levels.