They can keep on straying
as far as possible. Despite an endless stream of ass-kissing from the press with relations to the likes of the Clash, the original wave of punk and punk rocknroll, theres not one iota of value in this glam rock rehash. Poor Joe Strummer must be hitting his fourth rotation in the coffin with references like this taking his hard work down the shitter. One cant fault the Strays on any level for a lack of musicianship though. Le Futur Noir is as close to rocknroll perfection as one could wish for thanks to delightful balance of instrumentation, crystal clear production values and tone to die for. Too bad its all wasted on typical canned ham songs that could be pulled from any point on the far end of the FM dial. The fact of the matter is that while theres nothing wrong with what style a band want to follow, be honest to it. Were these guys pushed as another radio rock outfit they are, it wouldnt be so offensive. But to blatantly co-opt the punk rock image yet again in an effort to establish coolness yet not deliver on a musical level is sad
sadly the norm. It detracts from the DIY image they unabashedly thrust forth throughout the album despite finding bigwig support.
(TVT)The Strays
Le Futur Noir
BY Keith CarmanPublished Feb 16, 2007