The Usedā€™s second album opens and closes with two slices of metal-influenced emo-punk (Take It Away and Iā€™m A Fake respectively). But in between those two points, thereā€™s no simple straight connecting line. Sure, there are further explosive, wall-of-guitar tracks like Listening, and frontman Bert McCrackenā€™s vocals can frequently be described as impassioned wails. But Cut Up Angels is a light, summery pop tune (albeit with macabre gothic lyrics), Yesterdayā€™s Feelings is gentle and soft, Hard To Say is subdued and relaxed, and Lunacy Fringe is positively jaunty.

All That Iā€™ve Got combines the two extremes, producing a rock solid anthem perfectly designed for an arena of heart-broken kids to sway and sing along to. As with many of the other tracks, there also are lots of little touches buried in the mix (such as keyboards and background voices) that reward repeated listening.

The amazing thing is that even when the light poppy songs are directly interspersed with vicious assaults like the aptly named Sound Effects and Overdramatics, the album still holds together. An entire record of feverish emotional outbursts would be ridiculous (the histrionic opening to Iā€™m A Fake is a little hard to take seriously as it is), but by exploring different sounds and emotions, The Used have created a more impressive palette and ultimately a pretty damn good record.

Owen Heitmann

Although most widely known for the March 2006 incident at Ohio University in which a studentā€™s bicycle bearing a promotional sticker for the band was destroyed by an over-zealous Athens bomb squad, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb deserve much more media attention for their excellent folk-punk repertoire, which will appeal to fans of Defiance, Ohio and Against Me!ā€™s early material.

This, their third album, kicks off with Jack Johnson ā€“ not a song about the roots musician, but a tribute to the first black boxing heavyweight (ā€?in 1908 it ainā€™t so easyā€¯). As well as this anti-racism sentiment, thereā€™s also a cover of Joe Hillā€™s anti-union-scab anthem Casey Jones, but for the most part they push less of an overt social agenda than on previous releases, focussing instead on slice-of-life stories, such as the frantic What Shall We Do (X2), an ode to singer/guitarist Rymodeeā€™s hometown.

The band combine country-diddly melodies and inflections with punk rock intensity and themes with powerfully honest and affecting results. Eschewing studio chicanery, the straightforward performances are captured in the raw. The tracks donā€™t suffer for the fact that they were recorded on a low budget, and are brimming over with all the passion that money canā€™t buy.

Despite the rough edges, itā€™s hard to resist the twangy campfire sing-along Evil Livinā€™, the rattling rhythm of Little Piece…, or the black humoured MurderMurderMurderMurderMurder. Bassist Terry even assumes the lead vocal role on Better Off Dead, although itā€™s not quite the equal of her Body Count from previous album Front Seat Solidarity.

The record wraps up with The Ballad Of Sonny Liston ā€“ a biographical portrait of the doomed life of the man who lost his title to Cassius Clay ā€“ making it bookended by songs about boxers.

Three Way Tie For A Fifth is a short album that definitely punches above its weight.

Owen Heitmann

For the uninitiated, just looking at the album title and track listing of Melbourne three-piece Spazzys’ debut full-length tells you a lot about the band. I Wanna Cut My Hair Like Marky Ramone is a shameless pointer towards their main musical inspiration. The cover version of My Boyfriendā€™s Back indicates their second strongest influence: 60s girl groups. And the title Aloha! Go Bananas reflects the surf vibe/aesthetic that saturates their sound. But thereā€™s one important element of the Spazzys that you have to listen to the CD to discover, and thatā€™s just how damn enjoyable they are! This album is so much fun, itā€™s like a visit to the fun factory in fun-land on the funnest day of the year. Or something.

Itā€™s impossible not to yell along with the great single Paco Doesnā€™t Love Me, and the unbridled joy of The Sunshine Drive (written especially for the girls by Mach Pelicanā€™s Toshi 8-Beat and one of his friends) is always guaranteed to have me throwing my head from side to side while grinning like an idiot. Their naif-like vocals, cute harmonies, and catchy guitar all combine to make a sweet, effervescent album. They can even get away with writing a song that (1) is cheekily called Surfenbird and (2) is about getting drunk and throwing up on yourself. And it still sounds adorable!

Zombie Girl and …Marky Ramone are the most punk tracks, whereas Steal A Kiss and Shake & Twist bear the closest resemblance to the bastard offspring of Phil Spector-produced songs. Yes, itā€™s hard to find a reference point outside those three I outlined to begin with, but that doesnā€™t matter. Spazzys arenā€™t about originality, theyā€™re about enjoyability. If you need some fun in your life, this confident debut album is for you. Gabba gabba hey!

Owen Heitmann