Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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Blow-Up

  • Easy Knowledge [Polar, 1984] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Easy Knowledge [Polar, 1984]
Six out of eight songs on this half-hour-plus "EP" get to the heart of smart teen disillusion, which is as much as I ever expect of the L.A.-spawned nuevo-Nuggets approach. The Standells cover sounds like Dylan and states Blow-Up's credo, which in the great smart-teen tradition comes perilously close to making a fashion statement about not conforming to style. Of course they look up to Steve Wynn and Dan Stuart--they're young in L.A. Jim Carroll takes imagination. A-