Archive Review: Osker's Treatment 5 (2003)

Back in the day, if one had a mind to, you could drive up to Birmingham, Michigan (home of the legendary Creem magazine) and cruise down Woodward Avenue all the way into downtown Detroit. There was no reason, really, to do so – any such trip would take about an hour and put a carload of overzealous alkies at risk in several police jurisdictions. Sure, there’d be stops along the way – at burger joints, clubs, wherever – looking for something else to drink, something happening or somebody special. Mostly we did it just to get our ya-ya’s out, driving down the highway with the windows down and a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack fueling our youthful dreams of a better place. A good cassette deck might boast of a playlist that included Iggy & the Stooges, the MC5, Ted Nugent, and maybe indie artists like Destroy All Monsters, Flirt, or the Mutants.

Osker’s Treatment 5 would have fit in right nicely with that weekly tradition. Cranking out the same sort of high-voltage tuneage that used to accompany us on those much-anticipated Saturday night drives, Treatment 5 is chock full of snotty vocals, ringing guitars, and relentless rhythms. Powerful punk rock with a vital edge, songs like “Life Sucks,” “Lucky,” or the appropriately reverent “Radio” would sound great blaring out of a car radio, driving towards whatever conclusion fate has in store. Mining a musical vein not unlike early Green Day or Offspring, Osker puts enough frantic energy into their material to prevent it from being watered down by pop influences. As a result, Treatment 5 is a non-stop rock ‘n’ roller coaster, a thrill-a-minute punk rock ride that you’ll want to take time and time again. (Epitaph Records)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine, 2000