Useless & Modern

FM Knives | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Broken Rekids
• ASIN: B000088E8C
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,629 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Like a snottier Weston, FM Knives takes the Buzzcocks and plays the vibe with the spirit of 1977 and an off-kilter, purposefully fumbling groove. Useless & Modern, the band's debut, rabbles through anthems like "16 D.O.A.," ominous spy punk like "The Man from O.S.I.," and feel-good, old-school jams like "Summer Holiday." They're from Sacramento, but they sure sound like they're from the U.K., and this slab of teenage aggression will take listeners back to simpler times. Sure, technically it's punk-pop, but FM Knives doesn't have too much in common with mall punk like Sum 41 or A New Found Glory -- this group would fit much better with the Undertones and the Television Personalities. Consequently, it's not particularly innovative, but that hardly matters when a song like "Any Other Day" can blow most of its contemporaries out of the water. ~ Charles Spano, Rovi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Startlingly Authentic, July 30, 2003

By 

George a Pletz "cult explorer" (Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Useless & Modern (Audio CD)

Sounding more like an uncovered artifact from 77 than a item from the latest Punk revival, Useless and Modern is the real deal. Yeah, The Buzzcocks discovered this special mix of sweet and sour. But you can choose worse idols! FM Knives do a very good job of mixing the right amount bile to honey here. Leaves most late 90s pop punk in the dust, as well as quite afew of the newest batch of punk pretenders. The Knives clearly understand the lineage of where they come and do their damn best to leave their own stamp on these proceedings. The lyrics are about the standard relationship stuff but show an awareness beyond your standard faux teen angst. (Do I detect some lo-fi songcraft here?)The vocals have that unassuming natural sound which Pete Shelley created. They manage to hold their ground, despite the volume of the proceedings, without resorting to those annoying "metal-isms" which found their way into Punk via '82 hardcore. The guitars mine that turbo-powered Chuck Berry via The Ramones sound just right. The rhythm section create an energy level only attainable by untrained undersexed twenty-somethings. Hopefully, it's not as brilliant as it is going to be. A very good half hour set of songs.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best power pop albums ever and that's no April fooling, April 1, 2010

By 

swipp9 "swipp9" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Useless & Modern (Audio CD)

First off, I will admit these guys sound a lot like the 'Another Music a Different Kitchen'-era Buzzcocks although I would never mistake them for 'cocks. To my ears, they also have a large dose of early Who to my ears esp. the drums that bring to mind Keith Moon. Everything clicks perfectly here which might sounds boring but I assure it anything but boring. The one slow song even has a mod kinda power and they're all catchy as hell. Highly recommended if you like your power pop bursting with on-the-edge energy.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, an authentic band!, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Useless & Modern (Audio CD)

I have found myself listening to this album at least once a week since it first came out. I'm so glad that there are still people out there who can make decent music. Do yourself a favor and pick this thang up--you might be reminded that once upon a time music was made by real people with real talent....