Down By Law/Pseudo Heroes

Dave Smalley and his band of merry punkers attempt to educate the masses on the rock that is at the root of Down By Law's sound with five tracks recorded on a recent European jaunt. With relative ease, the band slides between the covers with AC/DC ("Whole Lotta Rosie"), the Who ("The Kids Are Alright"), Cheap Trick ("Surrender"), the Clash ("Safe European Home") and, most regrettably, Lynyrd Skynyrd (the redneck anthem "Sweet Home Alabama.") The sound quality is adequate and the performances are sincere, but the tracks are still lacking a real purpose, except to act as an enticement to get people to buy the split for the Pseudo Heroes songs. The Heroes are a side band by DBL guitarist Sam Williams. The five originals included here sound like a cross between Big Drill Car and Jawbreaker. I'm actually looking forward to hearing more from these guys.