A couple years ago I reviewed the last Statues album and said it sounded like a missing Naked Raygun album. So . . . the boys haven't refined their sound a bit. These Swedes sure do know how the turn the clock back to 1991 or so. As it turns out, a couple core members of this group have been playing together since that very year.

Statues Dopamine (ORD)

More of a continuation of that raggedly tuneful punk than a straight homage, Statues is playing the music it likes. The production is suitably low-key, and the songs themselves have that "we're all gonna die" vibe that was ultraprevalent back then. Oh, and the anticlimactic hooks, with descants instead of soaring anthems.

So, yes, throw in some of the Dü and plenty of others. Some of the members of Statues may be my age, but they still have the energy and outrage of their youth. And while America has been busy wandering different (though not necessarily better) roads, some folks over the pond have kept this vital sound alive.

I know, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. And it is true that Statues does absolutely nothing to bring this sound into this millennium. Actually, I think that part is just fine. Keep on keeping on. I'll keep turning it up.

Jon Worley