Review: Pointed Sticks – Three Lefts Make a Right

My love of the Pointed Sticks started in summer of ’09 with me finding Zulu’s compilation Part of the Noise for $5 while in Vancouver. Tons of B.C. bands I love drop the Pointed Sticks name, the first three 7” releases are legendary and Perfect Youth is still a fantastic LP. And they’re playing out again! Fantastic! So I finally have the new Sticks album playing right now, and I’m sadly disappointed. The snottiness of youth, I guess it’s blown out and in the wastebasket. It’s been decades, so I’m not expecting that piss ’n’ vinegar to stick around, but boys… the music isn’t bad at all, but it’s too polished and the attitude is all gone. It’s a good POP guitar record, and if you’re expecting “Somebody’s Mom” or “Lies” or “The Real Thing,” you’re not gonna get it here. And while they might still kill live (hello Stooges!), this music on this platter doesn’t hold a candle to the past. And that sucks. (Northern Electric, www.northern-electric.ca) Patrick Michalishyn