The Schoolyard Heroes - Abominations

Stolen Transmission Records

If I went with what I've heard about The Schoolyard Heroes on the internet, I would have another Yeah Yeah Yeah's rip off in my CD player. Luckily for me, the hype was wrong. The YYY's have never had a tsunami like Ryann Donnelly as a vocalist. The singer possesses a range that defies any expectation you might have of a young singer. But the band's mystique isn't limited to just Donnelly's vocals. Steve Bonnell's guitar work evokes traces of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's playing in At The Drive-In. The guitarist was also schooled in the world of metal and this is apparent in his devilish riffing in "Children of the Night" and "Razorblade Kisses."

The lyrical imagery Donnelly uses reminds this writer of Glenn Danzig's in his Misfits days. For evidence just check out this zinger from "Dude, Where's My Skin," " Take off your skin and dance with me/cut off your tongue and sing for me." The band has acquired quite a following in the Pacific Northwest thanks to two previous albums and heavy gigging. Now signed to a subsidiary of Island Records, The Schoolyard Heroes have a shot, and a really good one at that, at an international audience.

Carlos Ramirez