ADOLESCENTS
‘Presumed Insolent’
Concrete Jungle
Orange County’s Adolescents need little introduction. Their self-titled debut album released back in 1981 (on Frontier Records) is widely acknowledged as a pièce de résistance of early Eighties Southern California Punk. Its core subject matter is built around teenage rejection, alienation and all round disillusion of the American Dream has continued to inspire subsequent generations of young Punks since. If you’ve not heard it, track down a copy once you’ve finished digesting this review immediately. Trust me, your life will be greatly enriched.
In 2013, the Adolescents are still very much a going concern; bassist/ founding member Steve Soto, and original vocalist Tony Reflex, are joined by road-hardened compatriots who do a sterling job nailing these songs to the floor. “Presumed…” is by my reckoning their 6th studio album, and finds these middle-aged men kicking out 13 charged melodic jams. They are still angry, on the outside of society, refusing to be sucked in and suckered. “From the cradle to the grave, we are media slaves” hollers Tony on the ballistic “Conquest of The Planet of The See Monkeys”. And the general pissed off vibe does not relent. “Forever Summer” might radiate sunny and dandy, but is actually about the San Onofre Nuclear Station in coastal San Diego County. “Riptide” is not about dangerous sea currents, but the treacherous economic struggles of keeping your “head above the water”. You can see a theme developing here. This is very much a record made by working guys capturing frustrations many of us feel. I mean, really, do you think the ‘Stones understand about the tightenin’ of the screws? No fuckin’ way.
I have dug this band for a long, long time, and this album shows heaps of life yet in these old dogs. They are back touring Europe again in August, ripping it up in a venue near you.
Pete Craven