The High Score

Gotta love a band with song titles like "Ringing in Our Ears" and "Roky Erickson." Knoxville's High Score recalls those innocent days when Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Wreckless Eric churned out anthem after anthem in the gulch between punk and new wave. Every track seems to have its British rock echo, and there's no doubt these guys have a Ph.D. in garage-rock nuggetry. These songs would sound fine dropped into an oldies radio mix. If the album contained a hidden track with a cover of the Zombies gem "Tell Her No," no one would be surprised.

The do-it-yourself production features plenty of fuzz and tremolo, power chords and power drumming, and more guitar licks than today's self-protective MTV-oriented producer wanks would ever allow. Robbie Trosper and Chris Cook aren't much concerned with prissy, perfect guitar noodling. No, this is '80s power guitar, the fun stuff that you can head-bob to while holding a PBR 16-ouncer in a crowded college bar after midnight. Turn up the stereo, turn down the lights, let it rock.