Can't Stand Modern Music

iTunes Review

It’s pretty obvious the Cute Lepers don’t care much for modern music — their sound is a faithful reproduction of punk and new wave bands from a good thirty years ago.  Cute Lepers singer Steve E. Nicks and bass player Stevie Kicks also play in Seattle’s The Briefs, a similar band with a more street-punk sound. For the Lepers think Boston’s Jags, instead of the UK’s Adverts. The Lepers feature a female back-up chorus that adds a tangible layer of sugary fun, especially on the doo-woppy “The News Is Always The Same” and the wry “The Day After the End of the World.” The opening track “Terminal Boredom,” however, has as much bite as bark, and would be at home on any classic English punk compilation (Nicks even perfects a sort of quasi-upchucking delivery on a few words in the middle of the song).  “It’s Summertime Baby,” “Out of Order,” and “Nervous Habits” have all the charm and energy of power-pop punk bands like the Undertones and 999, and that’s always reason enough to crank it up. “Opening Up” closes things out with a little dash of spit and vinegar, its classic, shout-along chorus fueled by see-sawing guitars and a soaring layer of vocals pushing the view of a “new generation” to an anthemic end.