Working throughout with
Thom Wilson
on this eight-song effort
War on 45
,
D.O.A.
turned in a tightly wound, perfect blast of
punk
angst and anger.
Wilson
's usual economy and focused studio work matched with the quick, snarling anthems of defiance right on down the line. Songs like
"Liar for Hire"
and
"American the Beautiful"
smoke with the usual
level of energy, with
making it all even more tough, jumping right out of the speakers. Besides the band's originals, a variety of covers are essayed, with rather differing results.
The Dils
' own noted rip into the system
"Class War"
gets a perfectly understandable cover here, while
Edwin Starr
's
soul
classic
"War"
is treated in ways that
Bruce Springsteen
wishes he could pull off. As for the great
"Let's Dance,"
originally by
Chris Montez
and later revamped by
the Ramones
, the fact it's retitled
"Let's Fuck"
tends to say it all. LA
cartoonist
Shawn Kerri
tops it all off with a hilarious cover. ~ Ned Raggett