Wait — really? GBH? Really? “Great Big Hair”? Hee hee hee! Oh, my aching’ Jeebus. These Brits have been spitting out street-ish, gutter-drunk, pyramid-studded, Knox-gel-haired punk rock for what? Close to 30 years now (I think the Exploited and Cocksparrer can battle them in the “Old Punk Cage Match” — ‘Sparrer would win, but I digress). And as I remember, Grievous Bodily Harm (get it? GBH? Grievous…Bodily…Harm?) went through a semi-metal stage back in the ‘90s. And though I never heard it, their last record (put out six-plus years ago) didn’t go over too well.

So, what’s this record all about? Well, it’s pretty good. Really. For fans of Rancid (hell, this disc is on Hellcat and produced by Lars Frederiksen), it comes off as GBH and a solid mix of “methed-up” Clash melodies. Not a bad mix, too. You see, GBH releases always sounded kind of shitty to me, like they almost wanted to sound rough and “punk” and lo-fi, you know? “Oi! Piss off wanker! We don’t need no production values, ’cause we are punk rock!”

Well, this is all clean and full sounding. And damn, if it sure does help the overall sound. It sure as shinola ain’t busting down the doors of “new groundbreaking territory” — especially if you’re an old geezer. But for all the kids who feel that New Found Glory is “wicked punk,” then this is groundbreaking shit. And that’s all that matters. Title track made me giggle. The song “Invisible Gun” will make you wanna drive fast, drunk and yelling the chorus. Cool.

(Hellcat Records, 2798 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026)