Whatever happened to Do-It-Yourself punk stripped down to three chords, a simple backbeat and a melodic bass line? The Sleazies seek to answer that very question. The Rhode Island trio blends the musical genius that was The Ramones with the attitude of the Dead Boys to bring forth an album of quality garage rock for the new millennium.

Trite Ditties and Meaningless Crap serves up songs with the catchy appeal of pop punk without all the overdubs and cheesy harmonies. Listening to this album, you’re left with a true feel the band’s honest-to-god live sound. When the guitarist pulls off a guitar solo, all that’s left in the background is the bass and drums. Like The Ramones, The Sleazies’ songs barely last more than two minutes, and the entire 11-song album clocks in at just over 25 minutes.

With song titles like “I Wanna be a Junky,” “Gonna Operate on Myself,” “My Kid Drank Poison” and “Glue Sandwich,” it’s obvious The Sleazies aren’t in the habit of tackling serious issues. The lyrics contained within aren’t very politically correct or insightful, which is probably the only drawback to The Sleazies’ style. Then again, The Circle Jerks spent a whole career writing punk anthems with plenty of dumb lyrics and music history still fondly remembers them.

More to the Jerks’ spirit and very unlike most modern day punk rock bands, The Sleazies completely omit love songs from their repertoire. The topics that the band chooses to explore instead include erectile deficiency, lust for older women and good old-fashioned sex. As you might imagine, the band tackles these issues with a lack of seriousness and instead take a more humoristic and simplistic approach to the material. The Sleazies show that some punk bands still prefer to pay homage to the old school. If you like your punk rock a little rough around the edges, this album should be right up your alley.