Because I'm Awesome

Having generated a significant buzz with their debut on the scrappy indie Lookout Records, the Dollyrots got snagged by Joan Jett and added to her own Blackheart label. Knowing that much about their history, their sophomore album is pretty much what you'd expect: it's the same tight, gleefully snotty bubblegum punk as what you heard on Eat My Heart Out, except maybe just a bit bigger and just a bit sonically fuller this time around -- par for the course when a band like this starts to mature and gets the budget of an established label behind it. If you loved their debut album (and you did), then you'll love Because I'm Awesome at least as much -- in part because of the ironic whimsy of the title track, in part because of the scorched-earth political patter song "A Desperate S.O.S.," in part because of the absolute crunchy perfection of "17," and in part because of the band's exhilarating appropriation of Melanie's 1970 bubblegum classic "Brand New Key." You might lose interest for a minute during the willfully goofy "Cat Calling," but you won't wander very long before being snapped back to attention. And you'll get a big kick out of the two videos included in the CD-R section. Spectacular. ~ Rick Anderson