Adios Mafia 2014
They’re intelligent punks from Bronx, and that’s kinda sums it all up.
Hot-Blooded American Awesome
In our days of byte-sized attention span and epic ambitions it’s sometimes refreshing to bite into a Devil’s dozen bile-filled cuts wrap their message up in 33 minutes, so there’s a lot of reason to love this bunch. With just a right dose of aggression and humor, they contrast half-imaginary lust of the guitar-oiled “She Only Wants Me” with a fear of the opposite sex in the speedy rock ‘n’ roll “Chick That’s Gonna Stab Me” which opens the band’s debut, and the sharp entreaty of “Please, Sweetheart” with a psychobilly threat of “Banged All Dem Otha Broads” which reveal the guys’ mellow side towards its end. Such a soft-bellied braggadocio has a cinematic ring to it, as underscored by infectious closer “A-D-I-O-S!” or the bass-heavy “Dirty Bomb” that wonderfully re-writes “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” to sling forth an explosive expletive for a tickling chorus.
The same catchiness oozes out of the funky “Linda” with its ragged recital and sexy sway, while “Ninja Blues” teases the listener with its tentative balladry. It doesn’t develop further than the intro yet pitches tasty time-signatures in the song’s heart, before “‘Cause I’m a Man” introduces serious heaviness to the mix. Of course, these bruthas bear the imprint of fellow New Yorkers RAMONES and BEASTIE BOYS, but there’s surely something their own in their grooves, like the classic hard rock riffage and soloing in “Mean n’ Dirty” which sets in one’s frontal lobe for long – before long. So, although it must be hard to compete on the scene, the mafiosi are here to stay, and “no stopping us” is no mere boasting here.
****
