Reuniting after a six-year split,
Victim's Family showed few signs of flare-out with 2001's
Apocalicious, a rare re-formation record of legitimate quality. The band's sound -- an absurd grab bag of acid punk, funk metal, surf jazz, and hardcore math rock -- survived the backstage dramas intact, and "Dog Jaw" and "I'm Being Followed Around by the CIA" were as good as anything in the band's back-catalog, at the very least indicating a song-title excellence up there with 1991's "Bloated Housewives" and "Anti-Satan Song for Mom." LP climax "Fridge" was even better, tracking down the anthem excess of
Cheap Trick with the hound of the Minutemen. ~ Dean Carlson