The 1981 Listening Post - Eddie and the Subtitles - Skeletons in the Closet

Reviewed by Brian Kushnir Released: 1981 Eddie And The Subtitles Skeletons In The Closet Genre: 80s SoCal Punk Rating: 3.9 out of 5 Highlights: American Society Magic Dave Dacron Stream Of Consciousness Gina Your Head's In The Right Place You got your hardcore and your cowpunk. It’s a pretty good slice of 80s SoCal punk life. The core of this is garden variety disaffected youth 80s OC punk, courtesy of band leader Edwin “Eddie” Joseph, who writes most of the songs. Opener “American Society” could be a template for Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” - they share a chord progression. There’s a lament for their friend Dave Dacron, who’s ‘dead and gone.’ A bored sounding cover of “We Gotta Get out of This Place.” A basic bash at “Louie Louie” that my own 16 year-old high school crew did in similar fashion for the KFJC Louie Louie marathon. And more. There is some interesting guitar work kind of casually going on across a few of these songs. Key in on the guitar on “Stream of Consciousness:” the guitarist is making some evocative and non-traditional guitar sounds in the background there which I like. Same with “Magic,” which has a hint of the nice new wave sound via a guitar that sounds like a synth. And “Dave Dacron” includes a pinch of Morricone for added spicy flavor. Mixed in with the punk at regular intervals is some well-played rockabilly / cow-punk, which in LA around those times was also a thing that many bands in the underground scene were doing. Some of these tunes are among the coolest on the disc - “Movin On,” “Boppin’ Little Bobcat,” “Your Heads in the Right Place,” and “Gina.” The difference in songwriting styles across the record is notable so I looked it up - the last two of these were written by Bobby and Larson Paine, who in fact were some well connected crack songwriters of the day who also penned the big 80s hit “Johnny Are You Queer?” There was a frat party every year at UCLA during the mid 80s called The Decline, where the frat house brothers would book a real live SoCal punk band to play. The Dickies, Celebrity Skin, and Circle Jerks are among the bands that I can remember playing. I don’t think Eddie And The Subtitles played The Decline, but they would have fit right in.