Tuesday, January 8, 2013

CD Review: Norwood Park All Stars - Northwest Highway


Norwood Park All Stars is a rotating collection of musicians who forged a punk scene dubbed ‘Norcore’ in Chicago’s Norwood Park neighborhood back in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalist Dave Bergeron and guitarist Pete Hlavach, they started recording tracks about five years ago at JoyRide Studio in the hope of rekindling that rebellious spirit. Their mission has become a rousing success, as evidenced by recently released full-length CD, Northwest Highway

Norwood Park All Stars don’t unleash scathing political lyrics ala a Dead Kennedys, but the frustration on high-speed songs like “23 (Listen For It),” and “Hand To Hand Combat” is certainly authentic. “Russ Meyer” and “Gary Glitter” set social satire to a pounding beat, while “Jumpstart” has the more fun nature of The Buzzcocks. Most of the 13 tracks have rollicking instrumental passages, and according to the CD’s brightly illustrated liner notes, “Many gang-style vocals involved all performers on the track.”

The Norwood Park All Stars find a variety of entertaining mediums to proclaim their heritage on their website.  


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