It doesn't get any better than this. On
Don't Back Down the rip-roaring punk songs with no melody ("No Tit," for instance) are more than counterbalanced by the many mind-blowingly catchy songs ("Punk Rock Girls," "Number One," "Janelle, Janelle," ad nauseam). Some of the songs, dare it be said, even surpass many of
Brian Wilson's perfect pop songs. Whereas the
Ben Weasel-fronted group
the Riverdales aspire to be nothing more than
Ramones imitators,
the Queers successfully use the musical vocabularies developed by
the Ramones (as well as
Brian Wilson and others) and take their songs to new levels. [The 2007 reissue included three bonus tracks.] ~ Kembrew McLeod