When it comes to rock and roll, I'm just a romantic
fool.  So when a demo tape arrived "Postage Due" with
a hand written note explaining who the band was and
thanking me in advance for listening to it, I hoped
for good things.  Well for once, I got good things.


The Restless Few is a punk rock band.  I think they
are called the Restless Few but used to be called the
Subversives.  See on the demo tape on top of the tape
cover there is a hand-written "The Subversives" and
then it is crossed out and "The Restless Few" is
written beneath it.  So either this is the most
ludicrously punk example of ripping off other artists
ever or the band has undergone a name change.  Maybe
their drummer left.  Fucking drummers always leave.


The four songs on the demo are Fake ID, I Wanna Be A
Welfare Cheat, Teenage Suicide, and Debt Slave.  These
are very well crafted songs.  Usually, stuff at the
harder edge of pop punk sucks, but this is one of the
exceptions to that rule.


Instrumentally they are slick, fast, at times even
bouncy.  For very brief moments, the instrumentals are
actually reminiscent of the Buzzcocks off of Singles
Going Steady.  For much longer intervals, I would put
the guitar work up against almost anything on Look
Out! records right now.


The wailing is pretty good too, not hard to listen to
except where it is supposed to be.  A good voice for
punk, not something I would like to hear singing
opera. But then I don't like to hear anything singing
opera, unless I know I get to kill it after it
finishes.


Lyrically, I think "I Wanna Be A Welfare Cheat" is
great fun.  Why are there so many songs about
disaffected kids *still* being written?  Because the
youth is still disaffected.  I blame Regan.  Sure the
lyrics on the demo aren't innovative and the themes
have been covered, but hell they're more than themes
now anyway.  They are punk rock motifs, and they are
handled well by the Restless Few.


I can't see why these guys shouldn't have a record
contract pretty soon, if they want one and stay
together.  If they ever put out a CD I recommend you
get it and if they ever come to wherever the hell you
are, I recommend you see them.