NO USE FOR A NAME
Keep Them Confused
Fat Wreck Chords
www.nouse4aname.com

Punk rock veterans who've seen and done a lot - from dive bars to Warped Tours -
No Use For A Name are still kickin', but they don't seem to be kickin' as hard these days.
"Keep Them Confused" is not an album of ballads, but it's a not the snarling, sweat dripping
NUFAN of old. It is a NUFAN who is mixing together blistering drum beats with softer guitar break
downs, it's polished and catchy songwriting and definitely worth a listen - but it lacks some of the
rough anger of their early catalog.

"Keep Them Confused" is NUFAN's 9th CD, they've been around about a decade and not much has
changed in their songs, except the songwriting has gotten a bit better - maybe less direct -
and the spunk has worn off them, they've mellowed a touch. Lyrics are still about girls, not fitting in
and problems with authority, but it seems less intense thanit once did, which might be my fault as
much as theirs, but…..

The CD starts off with some sticky sweet, quick and punchy guitar - as Tony Sly spits out
his normal double-fast delivery. The energy keeps up on the next two tracks, but the forth track
has a quiet, spoken-word into from Sly, before the guitar hooks wail and the drums rocket into play.
Track five stays totally slow and quiet though, with a metronome like drum beat and tiny
sounding vocals. "Black Box" is the fifth song on the CD and probably the best. A good mix
of the slow and fast, still catchy and full of loud guitars, but also decorated with slow breakdowns.
It is a bit like some of the songs from the current radio friendly crop of pop-punk bands. NUFAN
ratchets up the noise on the next track and throws in some good old anger and screaming
and headbangin goodness, then they return to slower stuff again on the next song - this time
it's a little to cheesy and whiney, but………

"Keep them Confused" is a mixture of packages - some are in bubble wrap and soft fanciful
paper, some are banging around in a crate - it's a good CD, but it does continue the mellowing
of the band that began back with their "More Betterness" release. The "Keep Them Confused"
delivery is a pretty good one, but not outstanding, and probably not a lot better, or worse,
than CDs NUFAN put out 7 years ago, so…………. that whole, punk rockers aging well… err….
respectably… thing…. this is it.

Reviewed by : Mike Hammer