Rockin Roll Dynamite

Rockin Roll Dynamite is a confusing listen at first to anyone unfamiliar with the little-known cult rocker Kevin K. (That is to say, practically everybody.) Musically, Rockin Roll Dynamite is old-school New York punk in the tradition of the Heartbreakers or the Dictators: loud and fast rule and the more distortion the better, but always with a post-Velvet Underground, pre-hardcore sense of melody. Over the decades, one has learned to expect a certain type of voice to go with this kind of music, with a David Johansen leer or an Iggy Pop howl. What one does not expect, however, is the sound of a middle-aged man with a winsome, innocent-sounding voice, at least since Chris Stamey left the dB's. Kevin K's oddly sweet vocal style at first seems at odds with the sentiments of tunes like "Death Trip," "Down in the Sewer," and "I Was a Teenage Pig," but soon enough, it all starts to make a weird sort of sense. Recommended for all old-school power pop and first-wave punk fans, not to mention any fans of the Roy Loney-era Flamin' Groovies.