This re-release from Violated Records, comes from New Jerseys Parasites. Originally released in 1990, the debut album of the band, Pair of Sides is a pop-punk classic. The Parasites have shared the stage with countless national bands such as: Green Day, Rancid, Nofx, Buzzcocks and Bad Religion and their sound is somewhat a mix of these bands. Opening with Refuge the band show an ear for powerful hooks and singalong choruses. Fool for You is much faster, sort of the Ramones meets The Buzzcocks and it is one of my favourites. The Ramones influence is completely uncovered in I Wanna Be Like Dee Dee Ramone, a song that the New York boys would have been proud of with well placed “Hey Ho!” chants. It’s a standout track. The band continue to tour and have never compromised their sound. This album captures a superb energy across sixteen songs and ranges from the early Blitz like guitar sound on Never Giving Up On You to a more Green Day paced Waiting Game. Where The Kids Are returns me back to The Ramones and is all the better for it with some Joey style vocals. The Parasites are good listening throughout varying the pace and the style but showing a bias towards the faster song as demonstrated on My Demon Eyes where the vocals are brought forward in the mix. On Good Grief the band sound like an early Ravonettes with echo infused vocals and guitar. 772 opens with a guitar and vocal in the spirit of Mike Peters and The Alarm and the album closes with New Voice with that great dirty, Blitz style guitar.
