Bob Burns and the Breakups

For the first time spinning this, it may be easy to assume that Bob and his Breakups always have a copy of the New Bomb Turks "Destroy Oh Boy!" close to their record player. A couple more times on the turntable show that instead of plodding through the same old punk rock in a "heard it a millions times since" kinda way, they take it for a spin all over the road like a hyperactive kid driving without his parents for the first time. Blowing stop lights and coming "this far" from rolling it into a ditch, the Breakups are smack-dab between fellow Wisconsinites the Catholic Boys and the Leg Hounds...and that isn't a bad place to be. - Smashing Transistors webzine.

Second band out that sent us a super-duper punk rock record. "Hydrostatic Heart" is as catchy as it gets, combining a blistering beat with an infectious melody and great vocals. Brilliant! "Losing My Head" is right behind and "Acid Reflex" tops it off with with a jerky beat, which makes this record stand out from many bands around. Surely one of my current favorites. - Killed By Death Records

These guys have tapped into the timelessness of 1-2-3-4 garage punk, something few bands are able to do, especially nowadays when the genre has gotten a bit of acceptance on a commercial level and there are more than enough fools trying to pass themselves off as garage coolsters in an attempt to hit some non-existent jackpot. So perhaps that makes Bob Burns and the Breakups a little more special. - Terminal-Boredom webzine.

Blasting like an H-bomb out of the bottomless pit of awesomeness that is the Wisconsin punk rock n' roll scene, Bob Burns and the Breakups let loose one of THE essential singles of 2006. Both stylistically and qualitatively, this EP brings to mind the glory days of Rip Off Records. With so many bands in this genre now flirting with powerpop or noise elements, you don't hear nearly as much straight-ahead rippin' garage-punk as you used to. But when you do hear it, it's great to come across a band that totally gets it right. Bob and the Breakups kick out fast and furious lo-fi trash that's catchy as hell but not at all poppy (if that makes sense). The hard part for me is deciding which cut is the "hit". "Hydrostatic Heart" blazes at warp speed, buoyed by an aggressive, wildman vocal and scorching guitar leads. "Losing My Head" is a little less rock n' roll, more blow-the-roof-off punk. And boy, does it ever smoke! Both numbers deliver that just-right blend of adolescent ferocity and unabashed catchiness. Either song could have been the A-side! "Acid Reflex" rages in a not-altogether-different vein. But, to quote Professor Trickknee, it's "more messed-up rhythmically". Like their fellow Wisconsinites the Catholic Boys, Bob and the Breakups demonstrate an ability to rock your balls off without necessarily conforming to widely accepted formulas for punk rock.

Wisconsin, a magical land where beer joints, porn shops, and quality punk bands abound, has produced its fair share of Now Wave favorites. Bob Burns and the Breakups could be next.
- Now Wave webzine.

If the New Bomb Turks all had little brothers who sat outside the garage door listening to them practice, then decided to start their own band, Bob Burns and the Breakups are what you would get. Therefore, it's not surprising they joined their "big brothers" as labelmates on Gearhead Records with their sophmore full-length "Terminal Breakdown." In the long-standing tradition of punk rock, the album is full of short blasts of pure adrenaline about cars ("Thunderbird") and girls - even if it's poking fun at them ("Fashion Hippie"). Fans of lo-fi garage punk and the classic Ramones approach of "simple yet catchy" will dig this album. This Wisconsin trio prove you don't have to break new ground to keep punk rock fun and entertaining. - ALTERNATIVE PRESS

Melodic like the Marked Men, abrasive like the Catholic Boys, modern like the Registrators, and trashy like Supercharger, Bob Burns and the Breakups mash together all the best elements of '90s/'00s garage-punk and spit 'em back out with speed and ferocity. That majorly freakin' good EP on Plastic Idol was no aberration - this band has flat-out GOT it! Frustration is one hell of a debut full-length and comes highly recommended to each and every garage-punk nut on my myspace friends list. What the hell is there to do in rural Wisconsin if you're too young to patronize the dive bars, porn stores, and gun shops that make life tolerable for most? Perhaps you start a band and pour all of that adolescent rage and backwoods ennui into some seriously smoking low fidelity punk. And then, boom!, it's a couple years later and you drop a debut album that rates darn near as good as all those fire-hot records that inspired you in the first place. Frustration blazes by in a flash (I got through two spins en route to the gym this morning), but what it lacks in running time it makes up for in sheer electricity. From the opening chords, it has me tapping my feet and bobbing my head like crazy. The vocals are so trashy that I honestly can't tell what ole Bob is singing about (His golf game? Highway snipers? Lesbians from Mars?), but does it really fucking matter? The trio's musical approach is fractured and jarring enough to differentiate the group from your standard wannabe Rip Off outfit, yet at the band's core is the fast/catchy/furious blueprint from which all great garage-punk derives. The songs may be breakneck smashers, but that doesn't mean they are not tuneful and well-constructed. "Radio Mess", "Trash City II", and the album's title track all sound like potential college/Internet radio smash hits to me.

Alright: another item for my year-end top ten! Can you really fit 30 albums into one top ten list?

Lord Rutledge
December 3, 2006
- Now Wave webzine.