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REVIEWS
JONNY MANAK & THE DEPRESSIVES
Anybody Wanna Skate
God's Candy Records
RPM ONLINE UK - "Barely five minutes in and a quarter of the album gone and I’m already thinking contender for album of the year. Anybody Wanna Skate’ is like a selection box of all my favourite bands blended together into the perfect mega-rock-monster. It’s just fucking great!! Some bands are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them. Anybody Wanna Skate is the dog’s bollocks…. ave it !!! "
JUICE MAGAZINE - "Anybody Wanna Skate” LP is a must-have collection of garage punk chaos complete with over-the-top coping-slashing skate-rock grit. If you appreciate authentic skate rock with a fierce sense of humor brought to you by legitimate skateboarding rockers, get this record now. “Anybody Wanna Skate” will provide the required supersonic jet fuel for a skate session with the crew, while bringing fond memories and power riffs reminiscent of The Ramones and the beloved Buzzcocks"
MAXIMUM" VOLUME MUSIC- "What is abundantly clear, right from the get-go of this thing, is that Jonny Manak And The Depressives are the kings of the two minute rock n roll boogie. “Anybody Wanna Skate” is the sound of men who should know better, refusing to grow up. And that is just fine. The audio equivalent of a leopard skin glitter cannon, this has more fizz than an industrial sized vat of sherbet dip."
MAXIMUM ROCK AND ROLL - I’ve seen these guys a few times, but this full-length really bumps them up a notch or two for me. Well-produced punk rock’n’roll that has an early SAINTS quality. Maybe they’ve gotten more garage over the years? There’s still a touch of pop punk here, but as a whole, this rocks pretty good.
Razorcake - I know I should think this basic skateboard-focused punk’n’roll record is corny, but I don’t. Maybe it’s that Jonny Manak & The Depressives not only know how to write a good hook but make it look effortless. Maybe it’s that summer has finally arrived in the Northeast and it’s sunny and the top priority is having a good time. And if there’s a record centered around having a good fucking time, it’s definitely this one.
Scanner Zine- Regular readers will know I have a lot of time for this exemplary Garage Punk Rock trio outta California and this, the band’s fifth album, keeps my appreciation meter set to max. From the opening title track, the production on these 12 tracks seems crisper and sharper than before while retaining a cutting edge. Plenty of highlights too, be it ‘Sticks And Stones’ that’s gotta RAMONES vibe circa ‘Leave Home’ if played via ADOLSECENTS, both ‘Blundertoe’ and ‘Surfin’ Swami’ are examples of the band’s effortless Surf-esque instrumentals, ‘Gift Of Desperation’ retains that sneering, soaring Garage Punk of old and ‘It’s A Shame’ sees MANAK screaming like a demon possessed while ‘It’s Fashionable’ careers along on an addictive riff and great chorus and could be the album’s highlight. Then there’s the wonderfully titled ‘70s Too Young For Lemmy To Die’ and the surprising cover of ‘TMNT’. If you like your Punk laden with smokin’ Garage jams, killer sneering attitude and songs so memorable it feels like they’ve been kicked into your head, then the Punk blast of JONNY MANAK AND THE DEPRESSIVES is for you. Killer stuff indeed.
Ox-Fanzine- Overall Anybody Wanna Skate is a crisp rousing album that you can easily listen to 4 or 5 times in a row
JONNY MANAK & THE DEPRESSIVES
COLD PIZZA, WARM BEER
Self Destructo Records
SLUG MAGAZINE - "Cold Pizza & Warm Beer is punk rock at its finest—it hits that sweet spot where one can hear pre-punk influences, and influences outside of punk, but it’s still gritty, grimy and from the gutter."
JUICE MAGAZINE - "Punk, garage, surf, it’s all there!"
VARLA MAGAZINE - "Overall, it’s impossible to listen to this record and not tap your foot with a smile on your face."
ROCKANDROLLJUNKIE.COM- "Enjoy these gems, they don’t come around that often."
PUNK GLOBE MAGAZINE - "Not a stinker on the CD"
DAGGER ZINE - "It’s all revved up like a worked ’68 Chevy with a 455 in it"
CITY SLANG ZINE - "A garage gem put out by non other that Jonny Manak, the king of NoCal punk realm, himself. Everything in this record is perfect. Garage punk at its best here with Jonny snotty voice and a great guitar tone that only a Standard Telly and a Fender amp together can give you. Now, don’t waste any precious time with that oven and go get yourself a copy of “Cold Pizza, Warm Beer.”
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