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No Refunds
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Critical darlings Beer Drinking Fools have had difficulties reaching a larger audience and their newest release, “No Refunds”, does nothing to remedy that situation. BDF has always appealed to foul-mouthed, dog loving, barfly Knick fans with bad nutritional habits and frankly, there just aren’t enough of us around to give BDF the kind of fame and fortune they deserve. It is extremely difficult to convey the qualities of this band to the uninitiated, but let me try this analogy. Imagine, if you will, a fusion of The Ramones, The Simpsons, and one of those Bavarian Oompah Bands (You know, the guys in the funny hats, bib shorts and lederhosen.)
The CD flows very much like a night of the sort of “social” drinking the band is known to take part in. The first two tracks, “This One’s On The House” and “Meet Me At The Bar” speak of the good cheer and comradeship you expect to find at your local Public House. The next cuts, “Bitch Stole My Dog”, “Not A Love Song”, and the graciously brief “Anthem” are reminiscent of the repressed anger often released after a few pops. One’s knowledge of sports is known to improve by consuming alcoholic beverages…hence the brilliant insights into professional basketball represented by “Latrell Sprewell.” Drunken sports conversations often result in more anger and aggression; hence “Only The Weak Ones Die”, “Lisa Smoke”, “No Yuppies”, and “Dear, Dear Abbey”. A night of drunken ranting and raving then comes to its obvious conclusions: deep-fried snacks and some kind of physical altercation and, to wit, “No Refunds” concludes with “A Steady Diet of Pub Food” and the obligatory “BDF Fight Song”.
I happen to love beer, anger, Spree, fatty foods, dogs, and the occasionally drunken scuffle and therefore find it easy to understand and appreciate this CD. The average listener may require a pint or ten to get in the correct frame of mind. A numeric review really isn’t appropriate for “No Refunds”. To me, this CD is kind of like sex or pizza. Get drunk, and you won’t care whether it’s good or bad.
Dave Wallen was a New York Knicks columnist for ESPN.com from 1999-2001 who
was originally chosen by ESPN on the basis of having the same dry cleaner as
Larry Johnson. He no longer writes the column but continues to use the dry
cleaner and in view of the current performances of both he is happy with
both decisions. While he is not a professional music critic, he does own
over 500 records and a substantial beer gut, and is therefore uniquely
qualified to critique the work of the Beer Drinking Fools.
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Beer Drinking Fools