The Kids Don't Skate Here

iTunes Review

San Francisco’s Minus-One’s appearance on a Thrasher magazine-distributed mixtape ensured loyalty from an exploding Northern California skating community in the ‘80s, despite the band’s penchant for hooks over punk-rock fury. The Kids Don’t Skate Here opens with a title-track rooted in the barbed guitar-pop hooks of bygone skinny necktie bands like the Records, Shoes, the Toms and the Flamin’ Groovies. But instead of singing about Vespas, three-button suits or the usual mod musings, singer/guitarist Dana Alberts croons longingly about all his favorite skate spots of yore. “Nick of Time” pumps jangly Rickenbackers through Roland Jazz Chorus amps for that unmistakable tone indicative of early- ‘80s power-pop before “Bored of It” rails against teenage apathy with memorable melodies reminiscent of the Plimsouls. “I Remember John,” a tribute to John Lennon, is easily the album’s standout song.