As Y2K loomed, a whole seam of Scan­di­navian bands materialized – Turbonegro, the Hellacopters, Backyard Babies – who didn’t see much difference between heavy metal and the late-Sixties proto-punk power assault of the MC5. One just sped faster than the other, right? The Damn Times sounds like an American reaction to those acts, and a specifically local reaction, at that. On Gotta Get There!, the Austin fourpiece eschews the glam rock trappings of Turbonegro and Backyard Babies for a more dressed-down, T-shirt-and-jeans approach. Behind the Crack Pipes’ Coby Cardosa furiously battering his drum kit in skilled, caveman manner, Jeff Linton’s subsonic bass, and Chad Nichols’ effective manhandling of a Les Paul Custom, Ryan Anderson lays a paint-peeling shriek on high-speed R&B noise suggesting Brian Johnson is his favorite AC/DC singer. Best grinder on this compendium of the last 18 years: “Sugar Fix.”

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This article appears in February 8 • 2019.

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Tim Stegall contributed to The Austin Chronicle 1991-1995, and was a staff writer 1995-1997. He returned as a contributor in 2013. He has also freelanced for publications ranging from Flipside to Alternative Press to Guitar World. He plays punk rock guitar and sings in the Hormones.