THE METHADONES
Career Objective (Thick Records CD)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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Former Screeching Weasel/Riverdales/Queers member Dan Schafer (a.k.a. "Sewercap") returns with his most recent group, The Methadones. On this, their second album, the only original member remaining from their first CD, Ill At Ease, is Schafer, but the music remains the same: killer amped-up punk-pop music with incredible vocals from Schafer and really catchy tunes. Apparently, the first CD was simply a side-project of Schafer's recorded with pals from other bands, but since then he decided to make it a full-time venture and so he drafted in three new guys - including former Vindictives guitarist Mike Byrne - to be The Methadones. While their music is certainly of a similar ilk to later period Weasel, the Queers and the Riverdales, Schafer's vocals are much less snotty Ramones-inspired than any of those bands, and his range is obviously pretty broad. There's also maturity in the lyrics, with Schafer addressing topics like growing older, complicity, questioning one's beliefs and pining for days gone by in songs like "Premature Mid-Life Crisis," "Say Goodbye To Your Generation," and "Stuck In My Head." Indeed, this is a fantastic CD!

© 2003 - Alan Wright