Big Neck Records

Shirks - Talk to Action: Singles and Unreleased 2008-2013 [BLUE VINYL] – New LP

$ 20.00

Billups Allen (Razorcake): While The Shirks were active, a new single on the horizon was always welcome news. Now, all the singles are collected on one slab, along with a few undistributed songs to sweeten the deal. The band’s overdriven sound scraped hard on the hull of Teengenerate worship. Seeping through the band’s dual distortion attack are solid rock’n’roll tropes and catchy choruses. “On Time” puts the break on a serious head-banging verse to insert an infectious clamor of “on time, for a good time/ on time for a good time.” Does it sound easy? You hear it and wish you thought of it. “Dr. Wolf” is a mid-paced whomper. I’m not sure what the subject of the song is, but it proves the band makes good outside of ramming speed. Other highlights are “D.C. Is Doomed” and a hyper-speed version of The Kids’ “Do You Love the Nazis?” It’s a solid listen, and the best punk money you can spend on a record in recent weeks. For those who worship Guitar Wolf with sincerity, this is a solid document of a great band.

"Hailing from Washington, DC, there is obviously a lengthy punk rock history that The Shirks are adding to, and in some respects there is no difference to what the Dischord bands were doing back in the early days i.e. sticking two fingers up to those wanting to tie them down to what's being done now...Such is their disregard for following 'normal' behaviour i.e. in this 'modern age' the band seem to actively eschew the more accepted ways of getting their name out there by deliberately not having much of a presence on the internet. Back to the music though, The Shirks manage to take that early primitive Dischord sound and regress it a few stages, to produce a really scuzzed up punk rock approach that makes bands such as the Teen Idles and S.O.A. sound positively overproduced. [For a] meaningful comparison to The Shirks then maybe I'd start by saying they're like a cross between The New Bomb Turks, Space Cookie and The Night Birds..."

The Shirks Talk to Action. I have gained the highest level of respect for the label Big Neck Records. This LP is pumped from go to woe, Hard Core Punk the way it was meant to be, before it became other things. Play it loud…make that VERY LOUD! The only way you can sensationalize the experience of this record anymore is to throw empty beer cans all over the floor. Refrain from using a deodorant & pogo all the way through it. The Shirks are one of those incredible bands that deserve not to disappear into obscurity. Great Stuff! -- James Dixon

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