Made In America - Terry Malts "Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere" (2013)

I could easily rattle off a handful of bands that have been directly influenced by The Ramones, most of who couldn't escape the gravity of their influences and effectively became clones of them. Ramones Clones if you will. That would be a good name for a tribute band...trademark.

San Francisco's Terry Malts managed to free themselves from the near inescapable pull of their influences with last year's Slumberland Records release Killing Time, taking a familiar sound and making it their own. Their 2013 release Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere, also out on the Slumberland label, continues where Killing Time left off. Singer/bassist Phil Benson's Morrisey-like crooning vocals, perfectly compliment guitarist Corey Cunningham's fuzzy power chords and drummer Nathan Sweatt's time keeping.

Terry Malts are tugging at my ear strings in the same way Heavy Times did earlier this year. Their songs are short, simple, and catchy like they should be, there's no need for them to be anything more. There is more depth and maturity in these songs than those of the early punk pioneers but it's still punk rock in it's purest form. Set up, rock out, knock an amp over, then get the hell off stage.