Hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey The Scandals are probably one of the most hard-working bands out there and for some odd reason they tend to be criminally overlooked. The band has been around for quite a bit. They have opened for notable acts such as Bad Religion and The Gaslight Anthem as well as playing big festivals like Fest and Pouzza Fest. The band released their first full length, The Sound of Your Stereo, originally on Skeleton Crew Records in 2010, but now five years later Say-10 Records has given this fourteen-track album its first vinyl pressing that it so rightfully deserves.

Through out The Sound of Your Stereo you can hear hints of, latter Flatliners, some Gaslight Anthem, and earlier Stiff Little Fingers sounds as well. But the band mixes all of those sounds and combines it with their own big and crunchy, guitar-heavy sound, which is accompanied by some great hooks and powerful vocals through out the album.

Of the fourteen tracks on The Sound of Your Stereo the hardest hitting is the song “Avalanche.” This is where we can hear just how aggressive and rowdy a Scandals song can get (at least at this point in their career). The lead vocalist’s very raspy and gravely voice is tested in this song especially because in “Avalanche” he is not just singing, but he is balancing on the fine line between singing and yelling the lyrics. Right off the bat you get this sense of urgency when the guitarists begin the song by sliding their picks down the strings and jump in to the fast and high pitched main riff.

Compared to the other tracks, the song “Gold Hearts” slows things down a bit. This track is more introspective and has more of a slower and laid back sound. It even starts out slower than the tracks with a moderately distorted Johnny Cash-esque guitar intro. It has more of a ballad feel that is aimed more towards feelings of homesickness and loneliness with lyrics like, “I used to walk these streets every and night/Now I watch these streetlights fly on by/ Seems like just yesterday you were holding my hand/I’d give anything to get that feeling back again,” rather than a “kick in the ass” punk tune that would be great to mosh to live. Songs on this LP that would be more suitable for that would be “Salute to the Fallen,” “Four Seventeen,” “Perfect Timing,” and of course “Avalanche.”

For a first full length The Sound of Your Stereo is pretty unique and quite good. Sometimes when bands first start out, they have trouble finding their sound or worst case scenario, they get come off as derivative. In The Scandals’ case, they managed to find their sound and master it very early on.

Note to my fellow vinyl nerds:
100 copies of this album were pressed on sunburst vinyl and another 250 copies were pressed on red vinyl.