5.0 out of 5 stars
I don't know what this Import junk is all about, but..., July 29, 2004
My first introduction to these guys was when they opened for Trans Am in Little Rock, Arkansas (shut up). I thought they were clowns, but for some reason I found myself increasingly amused by the fact that they look like burnt out headbangers with some kind of twisted euro-punk attitude. I was naturally hypnotized by the fact that they consisted of a guitarist and a singer with some drum machine stuff on a little stand to the side. The singer looked like some kind of twisted cross between Axl Rose and Keith Richards trying hard to rap but comming out more like Iggy Pop with a random programmer from My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult backing him. It was brilliantly absurd, and after Trans Am putting on one of the most dissapointing shows of my life, I was left a little curious for more of this group with the bad band name. So, I was thumbing through the used section at CD Wharehouse and was quite tickled to find A.R.E. weapons self titled 2003 release resting near the crappy Aerosmith come back albums. I put it in my holds and wound up comming back later the same day because my curiosity was so overwelming. So anyway, I plug the disc in and immediatly find myself grinning from ear to ear. I just want to kiss these guys because I am so damn tickled by their whole approach. Seriously, if you are about to buy Bumblebeez 81 - the Printz then I can't stop you, but by the time your dissapointment simmers down then maybe A.R.E. will have a widespread US release of this great post-rap electro-punkathon. This is the greatest electro-clash album since "Teaches of Peaches". Finally some more drum machine kids actually understand what makes Iggy Pop similar to James Dean, and why a group like Bikini Kill would go on to spawn a group like Le Tigre. Rock on A.R.E. and don't listen to any of the critics. Fitcherspooner are a Fitcher-price Vegas side show compared to the grimey satire of A.R.E. Weapons. You need this and they need you!
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