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BEAT MAGAZINE (Australia)

Our Small Tribute To Blondie
This eclectic international tribute to the legendary Blondie contains quite a few gems. Here is a sample of some of the juiciest tracks: Shark Soup kick out a spiky, snotty rendition of Denis. Genepool bring a delightfully dark, 80’s Goth atmosphere to their apocalyptic take on War Child. Rotten Apples, convincingly poptastic on Picture This, are blessed with a soulful vocalist reminiscent at times of Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano. It is worth checking out the band’s fab pop punk album Real-Tuff (Durable Plastic) which features a posterior-bootin’ cover of ye olde Tears For Fears number Mad World plus a plethora of catchy original tunes played with passion, attitude and conviction; the eleven-piece Die Tornados give Heart Of Glass a big, brassy ska make-over that sounds mighty fine to me; punk super group Stiff-O-Matic-Fingerdogs, consisting of members of The Automatics, The Stiffs, Stiff Little Fingers, Slaughter And The Dogs and Blondied, are tight and rockin’ on Just Go Away. I love the vocal interplay, punchy drumming and sizzling guitar work; K-Mob’s ska version of Dreaming has light, laid-back vocals bubbling upon a gentle, summery vibe; Ragazza’s Fade Away and Radiate would fit nicely on a chill mix with its warm beats, dreamy vocals and rejuvenating wash of sound. Like all great tribute albums, Our Small Tribute To Blondie, has inspired me to revisit the original versions of these classic songs whilst enjoying the creativity of the interpretations. If you would like to find out more about Trash 2001 Records, check out: www.trash2001.de. (Graham Blackley)