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Filthy Cheaters: Wake the Dead
Filthy Cheaters: Wake the Dead
Punk/Garage Rock
3.0/5.0
Independent/Unsigned
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by Craig Hartranft, 11.28.2011
Hilarious. There's no sane reason to take Minnesota punkers Filthy Cheaters seriously. Especially when the self-deprecating vocalist Johnny T sings 'I'm a meathead' in the chorus of the song of the same name. Or he announces, in 49/51, he's 49 percent motherf*cker and 51 percent son-of-a-bitch. It would have been even funnier if he would have said 51 percent a**hole (which might be more accurate). I'm always up for a few good laughs. Punk music is often good for that. Cover a Ramones song, for a bonus or tribute, as the Filthy Cheaters do with Cretin Hop, and a smile is guaranteed.
Kidding aside, on Wake the Dead, Filthy Cheaters get the basics right for punk/garage rock: minimal production for a raw inglorious sound, average if not questionable musicianship, and a slim sense of melody and some clever hooks. Johnny T has the punk snarl down, both guttaral and raspy. Add the down and dirty, a step out of the sewer into the gutter, lyrics and swagger, and you have some filthy punk. Songs like Total Death and Evil Machine, Meathead and 49/51, or Peckerwood and Liquor, Pussy, & Rock n' Roll emulate the character of our protagonists and their music. Better: Women I Don't Know works because no women would want to know these guys. Add the retro seventies monster hot rod artwork as a bonus, and you have a sleazy, hilarious, and entertaining calamity.
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In Short
Filthy Cheaters' Wake the Dead is unapologetically raw and filthy, humorous and hilarious garage punk rock. Snap this up for a few good laughs.
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