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.