I first discovered the Cheats when they covered “Rock n Roll Love Letter” from the Bay City Rollers a few years ago for the Action Rock Jukebox 7″ series on Screaming Crow Records, where each band did an older cover song and one original. I still listen to the Bay City Rollers regularly. I love their songs. I just wish they had louder guitars. More bands of this ilk should be covering them! The Cheats did a respectable version and I’m always blown away when a band covers the Bay City Rollers properly. And yes, that’s how I sometimes discover bands: they do a cover and if I like it, I seek out more.
The Cheats formed almost 25 years ago in Pittsburgh, playing punk ‘n roll. They got 4 or 5 albums out, in addition to a split with Electric Frankenstein (which is always a great endorsement!) and an album of cover songs. If you want to know where they’re coming from, their roots, they cover The Joneses, The Nerves, Demolition 23, Dramarama, Backstreet Girls, and yes, the Bay City Rollers and Bruce Springsteen. All with an in-your-face punk attitude.
And for their latest album, “Old Rats On A New Ship”, they upped their game. Big time. Production-wise, songwriting-wise and performance-wise. It sounds raw, but recorded in a real studio and not something whipped up together in a living room to just get it released quickly. It’s very crankable. That is, the mix is great, the mastering too. It’s not too loud or overbearing, giving the songs room to breathe and the freedom to be played as they should be played: LOUD! It sounds good. Well, that’s not really true… It sounds GREAT! Vocals are much improved than previous albums, as are the songs. You can tell they really put their all into this.
Musically, it’s all out punk rock, with the emphasis on “rock”. I like to call it “Punk ‘n Roll”. Catchy choruses with some call and response vocals and some “Woah”s thrown in the right places. And a little self-depreciating humor too with a song called “The Only Thing I’m Fucking Is Up”.
And while they usually throw on a couple cover songs on their records, there’s only one here: “For You” from the Anti-Nowhere League. They do it like a band should do a cover: they make it their own. And if you didn’t know the song, you’d just think it was another great original from the band. Every song is different, but all in the same style, and every single song is excellent. There’s not a bad one in the bunch. Hell, I’ll go as far to say that there’s not even an average one in the bunch!
This record is another example of why I despise know-it-alls who always proudly proclaim “There’s no good music these days”. But there is. It’s right here, dummy!
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