The Destructors "Punkopera"

(Rowdy Farrago, 2018) So, if this is in fact the last Destructors album it is a grand way to go out. Not because it’s actually grand or actually an opera, but because it really brings things back to the beginning. The only way this is an opera at all is if you look at it as a story, and the story is just about a group of young punk rockers in the 70s going to the city to experience the punk world, fight Teddy Boys, and worship girl punk rockers, then take the train home after a long night. The band is at their most anthemic and rousing. The scene-setting opener (not technically an overture, but more a broad declaration of punkishness) seems kinda unrealistic (a punk history lesson that imagines ’77 punker teens actually appreciating the Stooges, Modern Lovers, and MC5 --- and god bless them for rhyming “Dictators” with “innovators”). But it follows with a more grounded manifesto called “We Are the Punks.” The songs here are sharper and more exciting than on a lot of their albums, and the whole thing ends with the band chanting the names of a bunch of diverse bands they like (Chelsea, Crime, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Electric Chairs, Misfits, Talking Heads). The beautiful thing is you know that out there there’s hundreds, maybe thousands, of fans who not because of the band’s ’77 heritage, but really because of the insanely hard work and dedication they put into their prolific final 14 years, would proudly list the Destructors in their stirring and silly and inspiring and goofy punk band catalogue anthem!