6Twenty (2002)

You can tell a lot about a band by the songs it covers. On their debut album, 6TWENTY (Infectious/Flying Nun), New Zealand garage boys the D4 demonstrate their excellent taste with a fine version of the Heartbreakers' (Johnny Thunders' bunch, not Tom Petty's, kids) ''Pirate Love.'' They even include a totemic pic of the 'Breakers' 1977 L.A.M.F. in the inner-sleeve collage (though we sincerely hope the D4's emulation of their famously self-destructive heroes doesn't go too far). But what's really exciting is finding that the D4's originals are firmly in the born-too-loose tradition of Thunders' boys -- all speedy riffs, electroshock solos, and cocksure attitude. If you're searching for an antidote to the happy-face punk of blink-182 and Sum 41, look no further. You'll want to crank this bad boy way up because, verily, it rocks like a mother...er, freaker.

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