The New Rochelles - It's New!

Hailing from Lawn Guyland, Noo Yawk and naming themselves Ronnie Rochelle, Ricky Rochelle, and Rookie Rochelle, The New Rochelles pay homage to the Ramones.

I used to be in a band that had the catchphrase “Everything We Know We Stole From The Ramones”. After listening to The New Rochelles’ debut It’s New!, I hadda wonder if they were in the same class at Rock N Roll High School that I was.

12 toons in 14 minutes and 36 seconds. Songs about essential clothing (“This Is My LJ”), miscreant girlfriends (“Tina’s Got A Toothache”), and monsters (“Watch Out For The Skunkape). Perfect.

The vox might hover over to The Queers more so than the Brudders, but the 1-2-3-4’s, guitar riffs, crisp drumming and starts & stops are all Forest Hills Four. Little homages like the “second verse same as the first” call out and the “take it Ricky” call-out at the beginning of “Jargon Mania” reinforce the point. S.L.O.T.H. does triple duty, with hints of “Warthog”, “Slug” and even “Rock N Roll HS” all in the mix.

If you’re gonna ape the Ramones, you better do it right. And The New Rochelles do it right.

http://brightandbarrow.bandcamp.com/album/its-new