There is absolutely nothing pretentious at all about Allston’s Random Road Mother. This is a beer swilling old school punk rock band that play the king of two to three minute songs that the genre was created with.
From the opening notes of "Mediterranean Ave," The Mothers deliver song after song of entertaining punk rock. Fueled by the strong vocals of Dave Unger and the raucous guitar of Paul Stefano, the tempo is fast and furious for the most part. Things slow down a bit with the anthemish "Johnny" and the unusually long (4:41) "LSD (The Ballad of Doc Ellis"), which covers ska, rap, and psychedelic.
There are several other gems on this CD and it’s hard to pick favorites. Obviously "#5," the now classic ode to Boston Red Sox Shortstop Nomar Garciapparra is their most well known tune, but it’s songs like "Jail" and "Cracked Baby" that best represent the bands trademark punk sound. "Smiles Everybody Smiles," which pays tribute to bartenders, waitresses, girlfriends and just about everyone else, would probably best symbolize the bands happy go lucky approach.
"Mediterranean Ave." doesn’t break down any new musical barriers but is the kind of head bopping fun punk rock record that keeps the spirit of the late seventies ala Sex Pistols/Undertones alive. If you really want to capture the essence of Random Road Mother, it is best to see them in a dive, smoky bar with a Budweiser flowing down the side of your cheek. This will surely put a smile on your face.
