The Skipped is not a band to pass by. Coming with garrulous old-school punk, the Cleveland trio is equal parts hooks and High Life. As with getting drunk or laying rubber, it doesn’t take much thought to get a kick out of the band’s latest — just a healthy sense of abandon and a bottle of Excedrin within arm’s reach.
Singer-guitarist Matt Mugridge slurs and slobbers like a slightly more discernible Roger Miret. His guitar playing is Yngwie-worthy by punk standards (we’re pretty sure we heard six, maybe even seven chords here), brightening the band’s mostly mid-paced numbers with frothing solos. The Skipped’s blue-collar rhythm section of bassist Bill Spear and drummer Paul Strachan adds heft to such cuts as “What You Got” and “Victim of the System” — instant anthems that are all curled lips and clenched fists. For fans of vintage punk, All Revved Up will get your motor running.
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2004.