New Bomb Turks: At Rope's End

Columbus, Ohio's New Bomb Turks once had something wild, channeling the energies of Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard and spewing forth a wild, liberating rock 'n' roll revue. At some point, though, it seems to have become just another clock-punching job for the band's members. At Rope's End is an appropriate title for New Bomb Turks' new album, considering the creative cul de sac in which it's caught. Along with the usual pun-laden song titles—"Minimum Wages Of Sin," "(The Cure For) The Common Cold Shoulder"—At Rope's End contains the sort of good-time party-punk, garage, and rockabilly material you'll find on all of the group's previous recordings. The problem is that each song is played with a mechanical precision that sounds like the individual Turks were replaced by evil robots programmed to rob fans of the enjoyment they felt upon hearing superior albums like 1992's !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! Those raucous, uplifting sounds have faded, making way for a mediocre, by-the-numbers substitute. Too bad.