With local roots that stretch all the way back to jocular party punks Phil Gnarly & the Tough Guys, The Cutouts are prime representatives of a strain of garage-flavored pop that flourished in Madison during the '80s and early '90s. On "Idle American," vocalist/bass player Scott Olson expresses familiar fuck-all teen angst with a sneering nasal tenor that's got "mangy pug" written all over it.
Meanwhile, the rest of band bop gleefully through punky, pogo-worthy rhythms that recall everyone from the Dead Boys to Billy Idol's Generation X. In the choruses, the trio goes for more pop pulchritude, but it's the kind of ironical aural froth that spits acid as well as sugar water. To put it another way, you could dial this up at the prom or a drug party and no one would rush to shut it off.
The recording's a little trashy, but that certainly won't be a problem for garage connoisseurs. And, hey, lots of young guitar bands spend months in the basement trying to approximate the aural dimensions of old Sonics records.
If you want to try your hand at remixing "Idle American,' simply indulge with Raw-Tracks.com,where a number of The Cutouts tunes are available for download into your favorite multi-tracking software.
An MP3 of the track are available in the related downloads at right. The Cutouts are playing at the Corral Room with the August Teens and Tangy on Friday, March 21.
MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.
