Customer Reviews

Shined Nickels & Loose Change

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When you want to listen to an indie band that has 80s sensibilities with enough punk pop sass to keep you in check, then you have the Rondelles. Much like The Donnas, this band hit stardom before they were even out of high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Band members Yukiko Moynihan (bass, vocals), Juliet Swango (guitar, vocals) and Oakley Munsen(drums, keyboards, vocals) found themselves on some really impressive tours with heavy hitters like Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth.

Now dwelling in Washington, D.C., the Rondelles' latest release Shined Nickels and Loose Change, shows the band at its best. With songs like "T.V. Zombie" and "Cafeteria Rock" you feel compelled to listen closely for amusing and witty lyrics. This CD is chock full of tracks from previously released compilations and singles, including six brand new songs.

I love that this band does killer covers of Modern English's "I'll Melt With You" and Madonna's "Like a Prayer."

I can't tell you how much I love this CD. If you don't pick up Shined Nickels and Loose Change you're losing out!

While the Rondelles sound like a fresh garage sale treasure, they've actually been perfecting their edgy, garage-y style since high school. With two full-lengths and a number of 7 inches under their belt, their sound is still incredibly raw and energetic.

Shined Nickels and Loose Change showcases some of their early 45s along with some compilation tracks and six brand spankin' new songs. Fans of all things camp will appreciate their cover of Madonna's "Like a Prayer," the Shimmy Beckers' "Cafeteria Rock" (Food Fight!) and the traditional Christmas song "Angels We've Heard on High" done in a not-so-traditional fashion. Simply put, this is a fun album.

Singer Juliet Swango's sweet voice softens the pop-punk edges but also provokes the crowd to clap their hands when she and her band mates switch into cheerleader-esque outbreaks. Shinned Nickels and Loose Change recalls the retro pop of the Go-Go's and early B-52's, but also the current female punk of Sleater-Kinney and the Donnas. However, they retain something fresh and creative that helps them stand apart. Clearly they had something worth listening to since they've had the honor of opening up for indie punk giants Sleater-Kinney and Sonic Youth. In fact, the Rondelles first full-length, Fiction Romance Fast Machines, was released on Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelly's own label Smells Like Records.

This new release is hooky, irresistible, and creative. This is no throw-away, three-chord punk album. Very deliberately raw, but beneath the surface is carefully placed riffs, sound bites, handclaps, electronic sounds, backup vocals and much more that make Shined Nickels and Loose Change surprisingly clever.

If you're looking for something complicated, something that might change the world, don't look here. But if you're looking for something melodic to get stuck in your head for days & days, you're at the right place.

This is a loose compilation of some 7"s and some newly recorded songs, and for the most part, they're excellent. It definitely sounds a little more lo-fi than their last album, The Fox.

Juliet's voice is awesome and is a lot of times the highlight of the song and what really sets this band apart from dozens of other bands that sound similar.

Highlights include "Safety in Numbers" (with the excellent cheerleader style "Got! A feeling! I won't be! Needing!" bit... which segways into a classic Swango chorus that goes "Your love anymore"... get it?) & the bass and handclap effect of "TV Zombie".

It's a shame that the record has to end with "Fort Surrounded". A horrible track, to be honest.