In the '90s, the Dwarves built a career out of pretending to be the scuzziest punk band in the known universe, but these days they're content to play the bad taste card for a laugh while tearing up their guitars with the polished attack of a SoCal pop-punk outfit. 2014's The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll often feels more like a comedy album than hardcore punk, especially on tunes like "Trailer Trash," "Fun to Try," and "Sluts of the USA," so clearly played for laughs that you can almost feel the elbow nudged into your ribs, while "Fiction" plays like a parody of Kid Rock, and "Unpredictable" is built around improbable samples from other tunes. The production is professional and precise on Invented Rock & Roll, and most of the songs are tight and fast and hooky, no matter how much bad behavior is depicted in the lyrics. And the Dwarves conjure up some genuine menace on the metal-fortified "Bleed Alright." As instrumentalists, the Dwarves sound more precise than ever on The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll, suggesting they've cleaned up musically if not lyrically. ~ Mark Deming

Rovi