San Francisco's
Texas Thieves are a modern-day band committed to the sound of classic '80s SoCal hardcore. Elements of pre-
Henry Rollins Black Flag,
the Circle Jerks,
the Adolescents, and even
Agent Orange and early
Redd Kross crop up all over the ten-song
Killer on Craig's List, an album that could easily have come out on SST or Poshboy Records around 1983. Even more so than the
Texas Thieves' debut Forced Vacation, which occasionally flirted with
blink-182-style pop-punk,
Killer on Craig's List is completely straightforward Orange County skatepunk: speedy unison guitar riffs, shouted vocals, pummeling rhythm section, the lot. Just as it was back in the mid-'80s, the results are bracing for fans of the style -- the sarcastically ghoulish title track is a masterpiece on the level of the best
Descendents singles -- but anyone who doesn't already have at least one Angry Samoans record probably won't be impressed. ~ Stewart Mason