Eureka California “Crunch”

This is actually Eureka California’s second album in 18 months so they clearly don’t like hanging around. This is actually true of the songs as well which are often short blasts of punk pop. In fact whilst “Crunch” is a pretty accurate title it could easily be subtitled ‘snap, crackle pop’!!
Even though it almost takes longer to read the title than listen to the song, “Edith” is a quick pop punky song. It’s swiftly followed by “No Mas” which sticks to the idea of delivering short, sharp stabs of catchy punk influenced almost power pop songs. They really get the pop hook going on “Sneaky Robby”, whilst “There’s No Looking Back” sees that catchy hook morph into a mid-section that will really get the ‘mosh pit’ going.

Things slow down on “#1 In The State!” a song that smacks of a Johnny Thunders song, with its slow guitar strum and an almost aching vocal over the top of it, it’s a great song. Whilst “Twin Cities” also has that New York, gutter punk and trashy feel to it. Matters then speed up with “Happy Again” which is shorter and punchier so we are now in Ramones territory. Like that band they are not afraid to throw a little surf punk feel in to the mix as shown by “Art is Hard”.
The final track on the album is “How Long Til The Medicine Takes” which includes the quite classic line “Seems your elevator won’t reach my ground floor”! It is a slower and more poignant song that again has a Thunders esque quality of hidden troubles.
Eureka California keep it short and simple on this album with all the songs coming in at under three minutes. It makes for a sharp and punchy album with an authentic US punk feel. In line with that genre, the important thing that Eureka California never forget is that you always need to give the song a melody. They certainly don’t sound like California band full of glitter and emptiness but instead have far more of a NYC grit to them.