Too Much Box EP - reviews
Punk Planet: March 1998, issue #24
Buzzsaw melodic pop-punk the way it's meant to be done. Abso-fucking-lutely head-boppin', butt-wigglin', speed(like)-frenzy-induced pop-punk that puts most of the bands in that genre to shame. What a wonderful seven, and on red wax no less! (MH)
Muddle: March/April 1998, Issue #13
Pop-punk in the vein of the Queers and MTX. This is pretty good. The songs are catchy and the oohs and ahhs do add to the songs. With songs and lyrics like "I Don't Wanna Hang Around With A Girl Like You", that pretty much says it all.
Mutant Pop
This one is totally killer, very much from the Mutant Pop food group of hooks and harmonies. hits all over the place on this hunk of red wax: "Cooler Than You" is catchy, funny, and cool with an original countrified flavor. "I Don't Wanna Hang Around With a Girl Like You" is another big hit. Four great songs by a cool new band, my highest recommendation!!! (T. Chandler) Mutant Pop Records.
Maximum Rock & Roll: February 1998, # 177
These folks do the pop-punk thing a la SICKO and ZOINKS with their primary
subject being girls. Speedy and spunky but nothing overwhelming for this common genre.
World Wide Punk
Ruth's Hat play pop-punk just the way I like it: really catchy, fast, simple, and to the point, kinda like a big combination of the Ramones, Riverdales, and Ferd Mert. If you give this record a listen you'll instantly be singing along to the choruses and humming the melodies. Definitely a fun 7" to listen to! There's plenty of pop-punk floating around these days, but Ruth's Hat really catch my attention, especially the song "Cooler Than You".
1000 Flowers
This is one of my favorite EP's of 1997. RUTH'S HAT, from Michigan, have all the components needed to be a major underground pop band. They know how to write a catchy tune--"Cooler Than You" features funny lyrics and a distinctive countrified twang reminiscent of ELMER. They know how to record, mixing guitar buzz and woo-woo harmony action like pros. They've also got their own sound going, they're not obsessed with being the next QUEERS. An outstanding pop-punk debut record by a band to watch in the future! (T. Chandler)1000 Flowers Wholesale Punk Rock Records, 251 SW Madison Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97333, U.S.A.
Spank Fanzine:
Similar to Mr. T Experience or Pansy Division but this is neither great nor awful. Spiffy label name though.
Spoiled Whine Zine: Edmonton, Alberta, Issue #11, Mar./Apr. '99
Brilliant pop punk by the boys of Ruth's Hat. Their songs are very poppy and catchy with great sing-a-long choruses. Pop this into your record player and you'll find it hard to resist their sound. This 4 song 7" is a treat for all you pop punk fans. Songs like: "Cooler Than You" and "I Don't Wanna Hang Around With A Girl Like You" will have you pogo-ing in no time. If you want to impress a girl, this would be start."
Panx
IN FRENCH:
4 titres punky pop efficace, produit en 97 avec des textes fun, un son leger et des melodies qui tuent le tout grave sur un splendide vinyl rouge bonbon
IN ENGLISH:
Four real punk(y) pop titles, made in 1997, with fun lyrics, easy listening and deadly melodies all engraved in wonderful candy red vinyl.
"Insert Clever Title Here" on-line punk rock resource
When you're tired of listening to so much typical boring crap, something like this comes around. One of the greatest pieces of vinyl I own with a seven inch diameter. This is just as good as their sophomore effort. Totally catchy pop-punk that has a 50's rock and roll feel. I LOVE THIS!!! You will, too.
Sound System! #2 June 1998
This is a four-song 7" by Ruth's Hat, a side-burned, smiling, poppy-punk band from Ontario. They're cool to see live and I have done shows with them a few times. I don't think that they have ever wrote any serious songs. This may be their four best songs, but I was quite disappointed that "Baywatch Nights" didn't make it on this release. If you do get "Too Much Box", be warned: "Yes" will be stuck in your head for days.
Get Used To It Kid Web-Zine
Another band that I've had the pleasure to happen upon during my time in MI. Pop-punk kind of surfy, maybe a teenie bit old school, I don't know, all I know is that it's good stuff and that's what matters! The songs are about wanting and not wanting girls, getting through life, along with one about being a cool dork or something like that. The singers both have great voices for this music, the guitar riffs are really good (whether it's pretty, speedy, melodic, or rockin), and a lot of solid transitions to keep it interesting - FMichigan/Canadian punk with impressive vocals. Not a normal punk band at all. They really focus on singing clearly and often slowly. This tape is kind of catchy and relaxing stuff. This is a good tape! - J
Caustic Truths, issue #62
This band has sort of a Queers feel but not quite as Beach Boys. Very rhythmic which some people may like. Do I recommend this? Yeah if the review sways your way.
Flipside #115, Nov./Dec. 1998
Four infectiously stupid songs. They sound to me like college kids who are too silly to be funny and too poppy to rock. And that's about all there is to it. -Juan Bastos
Jam Rag (April 1999, volume 14, #5)
"Cooler Than You" opens up the tape with extreme catchy punk stuff - no screaming, but matter-of-factly put in a tongue-in-cheek way. The reason I've waited so long to review this tape is 1) it got mixed in with my other favorite road jams, and 2) friends borrowed it because it's way cool. These guys are hot, and headed for the big time. I really like this band - fast power pop, great vocals, real energy! And ... no way - I check the liner notes and they are from Canada, or at least they recorded here. Must be the falling Canadian dollar, but let's not get into that. A real good young band. (DD)
Tail Spins
I normally don't care for harmonies all that much in pop punk, but these guys do a good job of pulling 'em off in a pleasing manner. They're a touch joke-core, reminding at times of locals Oblivion, only more straightforward. They also pay appropriate homage to the Ramones, and I'd say Buddy Holly, too. Good songs, well-executed, and their historical perspective on rock n' roll - mining the 50s, that is - was a pleasant surprise. (FG)
Beer Can Fanzine #2
I'm really impressed by this EP. It sounds refreshingly honest. These guys write great melodies and sing in harmony. The ballad-like shit on "Breaking Free" didn't win me over, but the rest of the record is good. Beer Can Count: Ruth's Hat get a point because they look like the kind of guys that drink beer in cans.
PEE PEE Fanzine: February 1998, #35, Valentines Day Edition
The music of Ruth's Hat may seem insignificant, derivative, and just plain stupid to the pretentious music critics of the world. But nothing could be further from the truth. Bands like Ruth's Hat prove two things: 1) Musical recycling works like magic when it's done with spirit and style, and 2) good pop music can make the most inane lyrics sound delightfully enticing. Let me give you some brief background: Ruth's Hat is a retro pop/rocknroll/punk band from Michigan that recently put out its own debut 7", "Too Much Box". That 7" mysteriously showed up in my mailbox a few weeks ago. As I put the record on the turntable, I had no idea what to expect. Would it be just another terrible band putting a 7" before ever writing a decent song? Or would it be a pleasant surprise and rock my world? Obviously, it was the latter! Ruth's Hat's music is fast, infectious, goofy, silly, and undeniably catchy. The last few months have been very good for obscure DIY poppy punk recordings; first there was that great Spodie 7", and now this! Hearing cool records like this makes it worth sitting through all the crap that I often have to sift through before I find a treasure. There's no better feeling than spinning a record for the first time and saying, "Wow, this is really good!". You can argue with me all day about how boring it is when bands re-hash the same influences over and over. But I'll take derivative and good over innovative and horrible any day of the week. And while Ruth's Hat is doing nothing original in playing fast pop songs, the band is hardly a clone. You can roughly put them in the musical territory previously covered by bands like Sweet Baby- fast, happy danceable, cute rocknroll/pop which makes up in enthusiasm what it lacks in creativity. The record opens with the zany "Cooler Than You", and the first thing you hear is the frantic drumming that sets the tone for this wacky rocknroll experience. Vocalists P.J. Sloan and Mike Sloan offer a unique mixture of rich-voiced crooning, succulent harmonies, and goofy naiveté. "Cooler Than You" starts off like sped-up Buddy Holly-inspired pop, sweet sounding yet full of juvenile exuberance. Then all of the sudden, the Sloans slow it down and break into this slow verse of vocal harmonies like they're the fucking Everly Brothers or something! Then they launch right back into the hyper pop, spitting out lyrics that don't work on paper but come to life on record...if you want your record reviewed by Pee Pee, write to: Josh Rutledge @ Pee Pee Fanzine, 4027 Old Orchard Road, York, PA 17402, U.S.A.
Etch, vol. 5, no. 3
I reviewed this for my own zine a couple issues back. I think that I like it a bit better this time around, but I'd still prefer less friendly vocals and the guitar to be a bit louder. Basically, it's 5 friendly punk songs, if you know what I mean. (Chad)
