"I was driving down the road listening to the Clash the other day when I had a thought, why doesn't anyone put reggae in their punk rock anymore? Sure, all that ska-punk stuff was kind of contrived and thankfully it seems to have bitten the dust, but there's nothing like staggering a heaping helping of melodic punk tunes with a thick bassline and a leisurely tempo. In the 70s New York and London punk scenes this was the order of the day, but aside from Rancid no one has picked up the torch. Hell, the reggae songs on Life Won't Wait must be the only aspect of Rancid's sound that hasn't been copied to death.

So I'm thinking this, and serendipity guides my hand toward the stack of promos lying on my desk and I pop in this disc by No Good Heroes. The first two songs are extremely fast but still raspy and melodic, a great deal like the almighty Beltones. This stuff is way solid but honestly when you've got Cheap Trinkets you don't really need a dozen records that sound exactly like it.

However, when No Good Heroes get to track 3, "All Along," they find their voice. Abandoning the artificially fast rhythms of the first track for some blatant Stiff Little Fingers worship, on the rest of Radio Rebelde NGH go a long way toward satisfying those of us who are kind of upset every time SLF's cover of "Johnny Was" comes to a close. Though there are a number of other punk rock songs sprinkled across the rest of the CD, I keep putting it in for these foot-stomping, subwoofer-blowing reggae tunes.

The best of these is the closing track, "Rebellion." Bringing some (slightly off-key) horns and phasing effects into the mix for the first time it's much more authentic-sounding than any of the other reggae numbers on Radio Rebelde. Conventional wisdom would tell one to go for the big finish, the giant punk rock anthem finale, but "Rebellion" works amazingly well as the closing song, a smooth landing rather than a violent crash.

Though there are a few moments when Radio Rebelde slides into Anti-Flag-ish cartooniness it's an amazingly well-written album in a style that doesn't get done all that often these days. If you're looking for an update or even just a revisitation of the sound of bands like the Ruts, the Slits or the Clash, No Good Heroes are probably your best bet. Kudos to the band for attempting something that virtually no one else is doing; here's hoping a lot of people listen."

Check this out if you like:
The Clash Self-titled, Anti-Flag Die For Your Government, The Beltones Cheap Trinkets

Deep Fry Bonanza

"No Good Heroes is a solid melodic punk band. They remind me of a less straightforward Screeching Weasel. The vocals remind me of a more gravelly Mike Ness. A lot of the guitar parts remind me of the Clash. The best part is that No Good Heroes does some ska, and they do it pretty damn well. The lyrics are personal and political and well thought out. A damn solid record from a band that I look forward to seeing play live."

MRR #232, Sept 2002

"Wow, this does sound kinda Clash-ish! Fortunately it sounds much rawer and especially the two singers are real good. The first song got me off my seat screaming REBELLION!, but they didn't keep that up a whole record long. Well, that's partly due to the fact that they try to keep their sound as variable as possible (between the punk boundaries). At first I wasn't really into the 3 or 4 reggae-rock Clash like songs, but they give this band an extra dimension and that's cool. Maybe like the Generators with a more spiky edge and a reggae vibe every now and then?! Please don't let these guys fall in the grey zone and pick this up if you're into English style punk played at it's best!"

Pure & Simple zine