Nordic Tracks

The Nomads

Big Sound 2000

It's no secret in drag-punk circles that Scandinavia's been king of the heap lately. With last year's bludgeoning of American music at the hands of Stockholm's vitriolic Hellacopters, literal hordes of two-chord conquerors from the north have been pouring in the - the Sewergrooves, Gluecifer, Turbonegro, the list goes on.

'Course, none have been around half as long as the mighty Nomads, who have been pounding out ferocious, metallic garage rock since the early '80s. While a dozen musical trends have come and gone since then, the Nomads are still standing strong. And Big Sound 2000 showcases all strengths, from the anthemic, melodic hard rock of "Don't Pull My Strings and "Worst Case Scenario" to the true-blue garage punk of "Ain't Yet Dead", the kind of stuff that typified their first EP back in 1981. There's an outlandish ode to Night Train written with ex - Young fresh Fellows treble-hound Scott McGaughey, and the disk is bustin' with the kind of bitter, intelligent scorchers that made these boys legends - scope "Another Man's Cross", "Going Down Slow" and "I've Seen Better" for the evidence.

And they're car buffs to boot. The fancy wheels we showcased months back as belonging to the Hellacopters were once owned by Nomads drummer Joakim Ericson, who now pilots a hemi-fied '70 Dodge Coronet Super Bee. Fuzztone guitarist Hans Ostlund Ostlund, meanwhile, cruises a 400-powered '68 four-door Satellite. Both dig the 727 Torqueflite. We dig the whole package.

John Pecorelli