ALBUM REVIEW: DeeCracks – 20 Years: A Frantic Effort (Pirates Press Records)
DeeCracks are a three-piece punk band from Vienna, Austria, who have made a 20-year career out of paying homage to the Ramones.
Don’t think they’re a mere tribute band though; Matt, Michael and Paul are very much their own guys – they just have the Ramones’ foot-to-the-floor bubblegum punk sound off to a tee.
To add weight to the case for them to be regarded as the rightful heirs to da bruddas’ throne, they’ve supported CJ Ramone – a perfect fit if ever there was one.
To mark the 20-year milestone, they have released A Frantic Effort, a massive triple 10in coloured vinyl retrospective of their favourite songs from the past two decades.
But it’s no cobbled-together cash in; the band have re-recorded the pick of their material from across their career, and added two new songs for good measure.
The tracklisting is largely based on their adrenalin-fuelled live show, where raw energy comes ripping out of every tune, with added tweaks to the originals which come from playing them live over the years.
Fast and loud
It’s one of the new songs, Burnt Out, which gets us underway, and it fits perfectly with the fast, loud, straightforward sound that they never deviate from.
With 28 tracks in all, the songs come thick and fast, and there’s no fat at all. Only eight songs pass the two-minute mark, and just one, a new version of early single Beach 90, makes it beyond three.
There’s plenty to enjoy; from 2010 debut album Attention! Deficit! Disorder! we get revamped versions of I Wanted It All, Monkey Boy, Not Another Minute, Gimme Gimme Plastic Surgery and I Need A Nurse.
From 2014’s Beyond Medication we get Charite Forever, Down Out And Low, Don’t Rely On Me, Adderall and Stroll The Streets, while from 2017’s Sonic Delusions we get Standing On My Head, Valentine, Mentaline and Shambles.
There’s a generous handful of songs that were originally B-sides or on split singles and EPs, and four songs from their most recent album, 2021’s Serious Issues (reviewed here), make the cut.
Standout moment
For me, one of them, Don’t Turn Your Heart Off is the standout moment of their entire career so far, and the pumped-up version here has a huge hook and a chorus you can’t help singing along to.
Don’t just take my word for it though, check ’em out for yourself. What are you waiting for? 1,2,3,4!
DeeCracks are for fans of the Ramones (obviously), Teenage Bottlerocket and The Lillingtons. If you’re not familiar with them, this is as good a place as any to begin your education. 8/10.
A Frantic Effort is available on 3x10in coloured vinyl or download from Deecracks’ Bandcamp page HERE or direct from Pirates Press HERE.
