Still damn funny after all these years, Orange County's finest
the Vandals have been consistently clever throughout their existence and
Look What I Almost Stepped In is another smart, goofball record to be enjoyed by all. The Vandals' songs are high concept, big, silly jokes covering every sort of theme from a gleeful, smart ass punk's perspective.
On
Look What I Almost Stepped In, they have some songs that don't stray from the usual punk dude subject matter like "Fourteen," which is about being infatuated with an underage girl. But most of the album is witty. For instance, "Sorry Mom & Dad" is a song encouraging obnoxious punks to apologize to their parents, while "Behind the Music" is from the viewpoint of a band desperately trying to make it and is a wicked piece of satire that ingeniously borrows record industry lingo to make its point. Then there's "The New You," a particularly rockin' number where the singer complains that "the new you" isn't nearly as friendly or cool as "the old you," who used to at least return his phone calls. One of
Look What I Almost Stepped In's finest moments is "San Berdu," a ludicrous, domestic-themed love song about moving to San Bernardino from Cypress (suburban Orange County nowheresville) and making babies. This is another classic record from
the Vandals, establishing them among the masters of intelligent, but terminally immature punk rock. ~ Adam Bregman