The Methadones - Career Objectives
(Thick Records)
3 1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed: July 14, 2003
Review by Tony Bonyata
Incorporating catchy power pop with guitar-fueled, hook-laden punk rock, the Chicago quartet The Methadones prove to be much more than the scads of young pseudo-angry bands that have cashed in on the pop-punk formula of Green Day in the early '90s.
On their second full-length release Career Objectives The Methadones, led by guitarist / vocalist Dan Schafer (aka Dan Vapid from Screeching Weasels), along with lead guitarist Mike Byrne (The Vindictives), bassist Pete Mittler and drummer Mike Soucy, snatch their sweet, sticky brand of pop-punk from the hands of babes, only to repackage it all into short, searing treats for those a little more mature, but who still know a good time when it clobbers them over the head.
The band's knack for injecting their infectious melodies with an unbridled sense of rebellious enthusiasm on numbers such as "You Don't Know Me Anymore," "I'm About To Crack" and "Say Goodbye To Your Generation" only solidifies that these guys are serious about their craft. Sorry, kids, but you won't find any power ballads or songs that reveal the soft side of this band, 'cause The Methadones don't have no stinkin' soft side. It's all in-your-face, pedal-to-the-metal, fist-pumping rock with no apologies.
From the fast and furious intro of "Premature Mid-Life Crisis" to the squealing guitars, hot-tempered rhythms and snotty vocals of "Ammunition" to the Ramones neanderthal stomp of "TV World" this band jumps up swinging from their corner in the Midwest ready to pummel anything and anyone in their path - Chicago-style. And, strangely enough, it's a beating well worth taking.