Madcap - "Under Suspicion"
SideOne Dummy Records
Madcap is less streetpunk now. I think I'm ok with this. It was
amazingly pleasant to toss Under
Suspicion into the cd player and find
that the group has moved away from sounding so much like the Swingin'
Utters and One Man Army.
This disc comes with a sticker on the front of the wrapper that says it
will "appeal to fans of The Clash, The Ramones, and The Jam as well as
fans of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello." Amazingly
enough, it actually works out out that way. Rather than making claims
that diverse and sounding like just another punk band, Madcap comes
through with the goods needed to back up such a claim.
"Move Forward" hints at a love of the Clash's "Guns of Brixton", with a
shuffling guitar riff and propulsive bass line. I'm sure that most
critics and liisteners are going to say that the opening track, "Keep
Dancin'" is in debt to Elvis Costello, but it bears more similarities
to the Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?" than anything
else.
Things that "Keep Dancin'"s organ and "Searching For Ground"s horn
parts make this album one of the most enjoyable punk albums I've gotten
to listen to in years. It's diverse enough to keep me interested, but
not all over the map so much as to become schizo.