Information Highway Revisited

New Bomb Turks: Eric Davidson (vocals); Jim Weber (guitar); Matt Reber (bass); Bill Randt (drums).
Recorded at Bismeaux Studios, Austin, Texas on May 20-24, 1994.
Personnel: Eric Davidson (vocals); Andy G. Front (guitar, harmonica); Jim Weber (guitar); Bill Randt (drums).
Recording information: Bismeaux Studios, Austin, TX.
The New Bomb Turks' debut album, Destroy-Oh-Boy!, made clear they were the Midwest's great new hope for old-school punk rock, and on their follow-up, Information Highway Revisited, they didn't change their tune much -- they just got better at it. Recorded on a lavish four-day schedule, Information Highway Revisited sounds marginally more polished than Destroy-Oh-Boy!, but it's more a matter of cleaner engineering than any attempt to impose a slick production on this band; the higher-quality audio allows one to hear more of the band's nooks and crannies, and it turns out they're worth hearing, especially in Jim Weber's guitar and Eric Davidson's vocals. The songs show the Turks can pack a lot of variety into their supercharged three-chord ravers, with undercurrents of Rolling Stones-style R&B and Sonics-esque garage thunder lurking clearly beneath the surface. And "Girl Can Help It" proves they can slow the tempo down a bit without losing any of their intensity. The New Bomb Turks were one of the very best punk bands to emerge in the 1990s (they were certainly among the most entertaining), and Information Highway Revisited caught them on plastic at the top of their form. Play it loud (as if you had a choice!). ~ Mark Deming