1990's: Cookies : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

How many stoned weekends have you sat around the apartment, watching CBGB clips on YouTube and saying, "Damn, if only there was a Richard Hell tribute band -- from Glasgow! Calling themselves '1990s' or something!" Wait no longer, weary wanderers. 1990s are a Scottish indie trio who pursue their ridiculous CBGB punk fantasies with almost religious devotion, resulting in some of the most hilariously brilliant singles of the past year. Singer-guitarist Jackie McKeown yelps daft gutter poetry ("T.B. sheets, Irma T, money-back guarantee. . . . Bobby D's in Mozambique, me, I'm on Decatur Street!") in the spiky anthem "You Made Me Like It." The guitars fly around the song, cutting out angular rhythms while the bass throbs with sex appeal. 1990s keep it rolling in "Cult Status" ("Cult status keeps me alive/Cult status keeps me fucking your wife"), "See You at the Lights" and "Situation," where McKeown shows off his Television-style guitar heroics.