The Wolves (1988, Top)

The blurb on the sales insert accompanying this record states as follows: Power-pop that remembers 1977, even though it knows it's 1989.  As lazy as it may sound, I tend to agree.  In fact, the D.C. based Wolves offered a slightly more modified take on what the Plimsouls were attempting a few years prior.  Sadly, I have a hunch these fellas had a bitch of a time fitting in with their hometown brethren, as the Fugazi kids certainly weren't going to tolerate harmonies, or for that matter, even some occasional hand claps.  If anything, the Wolves' vaguely glammed-up appearance put them in better company with their west coast contemporaries (but I wouldn't let that frighten you off).  A small local label like Top hardly suited their ambitions, methinks.  Speaking to the music itself, The Wolves is an above average disc, thoughtfully weaving sweet jangly strands into "All Day" and "The Follow Up."  "Good News" is power pop manna, while the off-the-rails momentum of "Atta Boy, Otto!" serves as this album's punk rock outlier.


01. All Day
02. Out of It
03. Remember Me
04. The Follow Up
05. Days of Our Lives
06. Good News
07. Atta Boy, Otto!
08. Mine, All Mine (When I Get Rich)
09. You Won't See It

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