Published on Mar 23, 1999
These days, it seems like everyone wants to be Green Day.
In a way, that’s an unfair statement to make. Punk rock existed
long before Green Day hit the streets, but it’s only been since
their success that many other bands started to poke their heads out
into the mainstream.
The latest of these bands, New York’s own Latex Generation, has
been around for most of the ’90s, but have only recently been
getting serious attention. Their latest effort,
Boysrock, is a decent enough effort, but fails to plow any
new ground in the genre.
The band – guitarist/vocalist Joe Latex, bassist/vocalist Tommy
Rockstar and drummer Brian Alias – have a powerful enough sound,
and they are a tight musical unit. But when listening to tracks
like “21 (Of Age)”, “Inspiration On TV” and “Campsite 54”, you may
get a feeling of deja vu – as if you’ve heard this before. Even the
occasional addition of tenor saxophone doesn’t change that feeling
– now it’s like you’re listening to the Mighty Mighty
Bosstones.
For what Latex Generation gains in terms of musicianship they
lose ground on in songwriting. Sure, they take the time to develop
song concepts a bit more than other members of their punk brethren
(“One For The Bastards”), but the mixture of irreverence and raw
energy (“Come Along Sorry Ass, We’re Going Places”, “Ilona
Stanley’s Response”) conjures up four words:
Been there, done that.
And it’s not that Latex Generation is doing a carbon copy of
Green Day; it’s just that they’re not doing anything to set
themselves apart in a genre that is getting quite crowded. (It also
bothers me that the band doesn’t seem to want to try their hand at
harmony vocals; I think they’re capable of pulling that off.)
It’s not that
Boysrock is a bad album; if you like punk rock and
alternative music, then you’re sure to get some kicks with this
disc. But in a genre where so many bands sound the same, one would
think that you’d want to try or do something different in order to
set yourself apart from the crowd. Unfortunately, Latex Generation
doesn’t make that bold move – pity.
One note: This disc does come with a multimedia section, which I
didn’t spend much time with at all because of a hectic schedule.
The little I saw seemed pretty good, but I obviously need to play
with this a little more.