The quartet from Buxtehude has a new record out with this album. Nowadays, they prefer to present themselves as a cosmopolitan Hamburg band, but that doesn’t really need to be the case. Because the band name fits a small town rather than a big city, and who doesn’t know Buxtehude? The town became famous through the cinematic schlager disaster “Tante Trude aus Buxtehude.” Back then, stars like Ilja Richter and Chris Roberts sang there. Despite this dubious fame, the guys are heading in a completely different direction, and have been for years.
This record features thirteen songs that represent a cool mix of soft, melodic streetpunk and pop-punk. The cover strongly resembles that of Suicidal Tendencies, although the band has nothing to do with them. Here, the quote and the representation of an attitude seem to be more important than what the Californian band embodied.
The guys remind one of bands like Frontkick in terms of song structures, but they are not snotty enough for that, and bands like the Berlin-based 5BUGS, which they also draw from, are significantly poppier. The Buxtehude band is too clean for the right streetpunk and too snotty for pop-punk. They sit comfortably between the chairs, and do so skillfully.
The songs are melodic, well thought out, and have drive, with the bass sometimes pushing through as massively as a suburban prole cruising through the row house neighborhood. So, the small-town vibe comes through again. Overall, the songs are fun, and I would definitely be tapping my foot live. Probably not much more, but who knows? The recording is too clean for a real breakdown.
SMALL TOWN RIOT has been around for years, playing many concerts and gradually becoming more well-known. This shows that the band knows their craft. That cannot be denied, but at least “Suicidal Lifestyle” is more for the (young) suburban rebel than for the full-time punk.
