Wowsers, this little gem of an album is done and dusted almost as quickly as it kicks off! Wasting no time on frills or frivolity, Mean Jeans launch into their tunes and crank out their 2-3 minute ditties leaving you breathless – as much from you singing along as from anything else. Once again the New York bruddas Ramones are responsible for the blueprint of the Mean Jeans sound, with a healthy pinch of Cheap Trick thrown in for good measure.

The general theme for the album is one of reflection. Having been \”the\” party band for their entire career, Mean Jeans now find themselves in their thirties, still raising the roof whenever they hit the road, but meanwhile real life has been catching up with their contemporaries, so what do you do when you are rocking the soundtrack to the party but no-one is left to attend? That doesn\’t stop the band from cranking out their bubblegum punk rock anthems, only this time the aftertaste is sometimes bittersweet. I do love songs like this which initially work as disposable chunks of pop punk but which remain buzzing in your head long after the last chords have rung out. Tom Chapman