Million Dollar Marxists

The name to be given is "fun.” Rocking out like the Ottawa incarnation of MC5, Million Dollar Marxists play fast, dirty, and, as previously mentioned, genuinely fun music. While their hammer and sickle with a dollar sign logo is a fairly obvious indicator, one need only take a listen to the album opener "Do The Emotion” to see that this band is intent on raising some hell and having a good time. This is not to imply that the band is some kind of novelty act; they’re as legitimate as punk bands come. The key to Give It Name, however, seems to be that they never take themselves too seriously, constantly acknowledging that yes, it’s only punk rock. Drawing influence from rockabilly and straight rock‘n’roll as much as anything to ever emerge from the gutter or the streets of Detroit, songs like "Bleed” do a fantastic job of blending their influences into one bouncy, grooving track. "Le Shake,” on the other hand, is less danceable than its name implies, striking a chord more reminiscent of early Fugazi recordings. Possibly more fun to listen to than watching the 3D movie depicted in the album’s cover art, Give It A Name almost doesn’t need one.