The Methadones

21st Century Power Pop Riot (2006)

MammothPress

Lets be frank. Most cover records suck. From the last billion Punk Goes… comps to that awful time period where every pop-punk band covered Backstreet Boys songs to be cute, the covers genre is pretty awful. However, it's irony, not the covers themselves that ruins most cover records. That "Oh my God man! Wouldn't it be funny if we covered Britney Spears!?!" mentality that totally misses the point of why you play someone else's song. Why should I bother plopping down my hard earned cash for your inside joke? Screw you and your cover of "I Melt with You."

Now those of you who cheated and already looked at the positive score realize this is the part in the review where I tell you the Methadones' covers record doesn't suck. And you know why skipper? It's because the Methadones honest to God love every single song on this record and treat them with the loving respect of a gentleman on a first date. Each of these power pop classics harken back to the good old days of power pop when you could say you loved a girl without having to prove to her you had ovaries to do it. Oh, the good old days.

While some of these are relatively well-known songs (Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore," Brownsville Station's "I'm the Leader of the Gang," and most importantly Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man"), the choices are for the most part from less popular but still infectious bands. The Methadones have taken each of these classics of years gone by and caffeinated the hell out of them. This raw energy is so powerful you'll find yourself singing along to "I'm the Leader of the Gang" without wondering if Gary Glitter was checking IDs before he let people join. 21st Century Power Pop Riot is just the sugar buzz you need to remind naysayers that pop-punk never has been or will be a dirty word.

RIYL: Cheap Trick, Screeching Weasel or Joe Jackson