The Incredible Shrinking Dickies

This first release by the California-based Dickies contains songs best described as percolating, hyperactive cartoon hardcore, colored with a noticeable bit of Ramones influence. All the songs on this album are frantically fast and very short; over half the selections here have durations under two minutes, and only the instrumental number "Rondo" is longer than three minutes. Most of the tunes here have agreeably goofball lyrics that are often only semi-intelligible. Chucklesome touches such as dog-barking vocals in "Poodle Party," a quote from the Champs' instrumental "Tequila" in "Shadow Man," cuckoo clock noises in "Mental Ward," and a rubber ducky solo in "Curb Job" help keep the songs firmly tongue in cheek. Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," the Monkees' "She," and Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" are given the same dizzy treatment as everything else here. This album is good, crazy fun and worth a listen. ~ David Cleary