MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL ("1+1=ATE" CD | DEC 2004)
Yeah, I've heard these cats before and this shit is right up my alley. Imagine a poppier version of the DEAD BOYS or the USERS. Or imagine some lame power pop band and then make 'em real fucking tough. Either way, you come up with the KNOCKOUT PILLS. This is equal parts power pop, punk rock, and 70's AOR and it will not stopped. From start to finish, this thing doesn't let up. And no, I'm not sleeping with one of the band members. - Kenny Kaos.

HOUSE OF SMUT ("1+1=ATE" CD)
In terms of treble-spiked garage rock n' roll, there has hardly been a more convincing recent entry to the fray than the Knockout Pills' self-titled debut. The only question it left to be answered was whether or not lightning would strike twice for these guys. This follow-up, 1+1=Ate, replies with a resounding "yes." Your delight is all but guaranteed.
Since their self-titled debut, the Knockout Pills have come a long way in honing their harmonized melodic garage rock n' roll to perfection. The results on 1+1=Ate come off as a righteous blend of Cheap Trick and thee Headcoats, with a dash of Turbonegro's vast feeling hard rock power thrown in to good measure. The production quality here is pretty clean, with a strange sense of rawness retained. Translation: this listen couldn't get much better if it tried. Somehow, the Knockout Pills have managed to improve upon their virtually flawless first outing.
Just like last time, 1+1=Ate stands jammed pack with amazing songs. The hypnotic harmonized background vocals on "I'm Lost" aid in giving the track an epic eastern-tinged psych feel. Some serious piano pounding helps "Not For Nothing" cut through the rest a bit, while the handclap accentuated "Summertown Rundown" is rock n' roll all the way, even boasting some tasteful female screams. There really isn't a stinker in the bunch.
If you're just getting hip to the Knockout Pills, 1+1=Ate is as good a place to start as any. Regardless, you will definitely need both of their albums, so don't stop here--that first one is a killer, too. Ladies and gentlemen, the Knockout Pills are officially on a roll. Prepare to be rocked.

X2RR (TIME TO ROCK n ROLL) ("1+1=ATE" CD)
Arizona - home of the worlds greatest free skateparks, the world’s worst raverockin’ frat goons, more college girls gone wilder than any other sovereignty, and last but not least…the Knockout Pills!  This new one by said Knockout Pills is hot shit to be sure.  Snotty vox, fast drummin’, buzzsaw guitars, sneaky leads…what else do ya want fer yer money fer chrissakes?  Each song is a fresh change from the last one, but this cd is an endless temper tantrum and a great remedy for post-teenage depression.MG

LETTERS HAVE NO ARMS (entire career)
How do all these bands get such nice websites? I listened to about a quarter seconds of an MP3, and I can easily dismiss their entire career. It caused me to actually physically shudder.

ALT.CLUTURE.GUIDE ("1+1=ATE" CD)
With eleven of the twelve songs on this record clocking in at under two-and-a-half minutes, there is nothing short of the pure energy of dirty garage rock unleashed in raw fashion. With the vibe of The Stooges, the MC5, and the to-the-point quickness of the Ramones encompassing the punk rock fury of the Knockout Pills, 1 + 1 = Ate is a quick burst of sonic-thrust rock and fucking roll.
The basic song structure consists of consistent riffs, played through overdriven guitar amps and with swift drum lines. Tracks like the early Who reminiscent "Come On Out," the middle finger vibe of "Summertown Rundown," (almost sounding like a lost track from the first Clash record), the catchy, noisy pop of "Recognition Scene" and the eased-back "Teller 159" create the intense energy found here.
1 + 1 = Ate was recorded in lo-fi, complete with tape hiss – which is the right way for these guys – in what sounds like a spontaneous fashion. The sound is cooked up to the red, almost like albums like Raw Power and White Light, White Heat were recorded, the Knockout pills cranking out loud music without any of the studio bullshit tricks. All kidding aside, a band with the energy of the Knockout Pills does not need all that – just plug in and play, that is the only requirement. Indeed this is a great return to the rawness of early garage rock, in a Nuggets stance, incorporating the sound of punk, hard/maximum R&B, and even surf.

PITCHFORK ("1+1=ATE" CD)
Rating: 7.7
As this album's title makes clear, The Knockout Pills aren't very good at either math or spelling. In the rock 'n' roll classroom, they're the detention-bound misfits in the back row-- ain't concerned with learnin' nothin' but a good time-- and 1+1=Ate, their second full-length, is an album of punk spitballs targeted at the back of your head. They've scrawled "KISS" on all of their notebooks, but their primary allegiance is to Cheap Trick. While fellow pop-punk bands like Sum 41, Good Charlotte, and Blink-182 are wearing their newly found maturity like a school uniform, The Knockout Pills wallow in arrested development, despite the fact that their back-cover photo depicts them as late-thirtysomethings.
Featuring members of the Weird Lovemakers, Los Federales, and The Resonars, The Knockout Pills hail from Tucson, AZ, home of Calexico and Linda Ronstadt. There's no high-desert harmony or Mariachi influence in their sound, though-- these not-so-juvenile delinquents play a brand of pop/punk that could have emanated from any corner of the country. Rock 'n' roll has many universals-- fast tempos, loud guitars, barking vocals, and attitude-- and The Knockout Pills cram them all into 1+1=Ate.
Guitarist Matt Rendon and bassist Travis Spillers trade off yapping vocals throughout the album, and trying to distinguish between them is only slightly less futile than trying to figure out what exactly they're saying. Their indecipherability never becomes a liability; instead, it only reinforces the album's one-take spontaneity and the exuberance of its stay-young mission. A few distinct words even rise from the rumble. On "Stab Wound Baby", they sing about a guy who wanted to be a doctor but instead "now he's comin' home in a box." "Summertown Rundown" laments the Arizonan heat: "We got three more months of 110 degrees."
The dozen songs on 1+1=Ate all start with a prologue that introduces the main guitar riff, settle into a verse/chorus/verse structure, and are punctuated by a shout-along bridge and short guitar solo-- and all of them are over and done within three minutes. The Knockout Pills spruce up the songs with flourishes like the whoa-oh-oh chorus of "Stab Wound Baby" and the barreling piano on "Not for Nothing". And in addition to handclaps and a squealing audience, "Summertown Rundown" layers a surf-guitar solo over falsetto la-la-la's as it leads into a second searing solo. 1+1=Ate may not be exceedingly original, but that doesn't mean it's not inspired-- or that its not good, solid fun.
-Stephen M. Deusner, October 19th, 2004

TERMINAL-BOREDOM ("1+1=ATE" CD)
Here's a band moving in a more pop direction, but unlike the razor-punk bands (think Teengenerate into Firestarter), this is what happens when a more organic, rock-based punker unit starts making the switch. I'm serious! You can't make this shit up! Anyway, they sound really good (as a band, and the recording's cool), and surf atop everything from the Marked Men to the Gaza Strippers (mainly due to the vocals). Enjoyable stuff, but not totally killer. I've heard from a lotta witnesses that these guys are a righteous rock machine live, and I believe it. Waaaay better than most current Estrus faire. (TK)

COSMIK (S/T CD| Sept 2003)
Something about the cover art for this CD made me want to put it on immediately. The lettering looks like one of those old '70s kids mags like "Bananas" or something. Plus, I notice it features ex-members of the Vultures and Resonars, really cool. Wow, this is great! Recorded on a 4-track, but it's not really that lo-fi. I mean, it ain't slick but it sounds damn good. Real energetic '77 punk, great kooky vocals and fun songs like "Reject Button," "Divine Distraction" and "Here Comes The Legend." I agree with Tom Dead Beat's assertion that these guys borrow aspects of bands like Radio Birdman, the Real Kids, Saints, and Pagans in their sound. "Confused" has a cool "Bo Diddley" beat and wailing harp, sounds kinda like mid-60s freakbeat. I dig this! (Alan Wright)

AMP (S/T CD| Aug 2003)
Wow! This one’s a real surprise! This Arizona band’s debut long-player kicks ass! Great across the board, as they play a speedy brand of ‘77 punk / pop one tune, then immediately move to a more garagey number, and then to a straight up rocker-on and on. But pay that no mind, it’s all Rock’n’Roll here, and some damn fine Rock’N’Roll at that. I’m absolutely positive that this band will force me to empty my pockets in search of beer money during their live show. Can’t wait! (Mel Cheplowitz)

AMERICORE MAGAZINE (S/T CD| Aug 2003)
The Rezellios meet The Deadboys in an alley for a knife fight only to get detoured on a surfing trip with the Crowd. Pogo-punk with a poppy edge, abrasive guitar attack over machine gun drums. It's eclectic, it's raw and just punchy enough to keep your hankering for retro punk satisfied. 13 songs of punk angst, sarcasm and humor. Definitely a much needed relief from all the over the top political air in the world today. Goes great with beer and tacos. - Larry Lugz
DEEP FRY BONANZA
Knockout Pills, the - Self-titled
In any other year, this Arizona garage rock band's debut full-length would be the best album of the year. However, this is 2003 so they'll have to settle for fourth...

When Nirvana hit in 1992 it was indeed a phenomenal thing; I could tell even though I was only a pimpled, thirteen-year-old would-be music geek at the time. I didn’t really understand what was happening while all this was going on, I just bought the records, and with Kurt Cobain spouting the names of bands like Flipper, the Wipers, the Vaselines, the Meat Puppets and tons of others endlessly it seemed as there was no bottom to the indie groundswell that Nirvana rode to the top of the pop charts. However, after I completely digested Nirvana and moved from pre-teen idol worship into teenage hipper-than-thou-ness I found that once Nirvana popped up on MTV their influence virtually disappeared from the underground. Unless you cared about getting signed to a major label (and don't get me wrong, plenty of people did), no one in 1994 was playing grunge in punk rock clubs; instead the most cutting edge styles were the East Bay pop punk of bands like Jawbreaker and Crimpshrine (which itself went bust after Green Day hit it big) and proto-metalcore of bands like Earth Crisis and Madball.

For the past few years now the music press has been trying to sell the youth of America ( the Wipers never leave us, do they?) on the fact that bands like the White Stripes are the new millennium’s equivalent to Nirvana. However, whereas Nirvana’s sound was built very gradually on a foundation of post-Damaged Black Flag, Kiss, the Beatles and Mudhoney, the White Stripes seemed to come out of nowhere. Sure, there has always been the Estrus/Sympathy for the Record Industry clique, but who do you know that was actually listening to that stuff before the NME picked up the scoop? Even given the White Stripes’ blatant garage-isms, it’s tough to argue that their combination of neo-blues with that subgenre was anything but innovative, and when “I Fell In Love with a Girl” came on the radio it sounded fresh to all but the most savvy ears.

Now, in an eerie reflection of the economic philosophy of our current Republican administration, the White Stripes’ influence seems to be trickling down into the underground, almost in an inverse pattern to the way in which Nirvana fed off and grew out of their own influences. You hear their garagey production in just about every record that’s come out in the past year, and Jack White’s back-to-basics approach to songwriting that takes the central melody away from the guitar and puts it back with the vocals feels omnipresent as of late. Even more strangely, while Nirvana’s success resulted in a thousand and one abominably shitty grunge bands that were all eagerly gobbled up by the mainstream (Candlebox anyone?), the White Stripes’ success has resulted in a mainstream-immune Renaissance of great, classic songwriting in the underground.

The latest band to land themselves on my seemingly unending list of great music to follow in the Stripes’ wake (see the Exploding Hearts and the Put-Ons for the two best examples to date) are Tucson, Arizona’s the Knockout Pills. Like the aforementioned bands, the Knockout Pills achieve their greatness by putting their own spin on the afore-described sound, mixing the Stripes’ garage-heavy rock and roll with the brilliant songwriting of bands like the Buzzcocks and the Boys and the super-high-octane tempos of groups like the Clash and the Ramones (by the way, just to be fair the members of the Knockout Pills have been at this for eons, serving time in well-known garage-punk acts like the Weird Lovemakers and the Vultures). I’m sure you’re listening to me rattling off all of these classic bands’ names right now and thinking “yeah, right, another over-zealous reviewer getting off by sending us on a wild goose chase for a record that’s just going to disappoint us in the end,” but that is not so my friend. The Knockout Pills are the real deal, pure and undiluted rock and roll the way that kids decades from now will remember 2003 as being all about.

When that wild, spastic opening riff to “Reject Button” leads off the disc you know that you’re in for trouble, then those drawling, Radio Birdman-esque vocals kick in and it’s all fucking over. I know that this is what I’ve been waiting for; an Exploding Hearts with more subtle and mature songwriting skills, a Put-Ons who take influences from the hardcore scene that I so dearly love. The Knockout Pills bring it all together magnificently in a twisted, swirling mass of layered melody whose only equal among current rock and roll bands is the almighty Arrivals.

I’d spend the next five paragraphs going through this rager song-by-song, but what’s the point? Great music like this doesn’t need analysis, it needs a breezy summer night, a car with the windows down, the stereo cranked up as high as it’ll go and a front end pointed toward the beach. Besides, you need to listen to this thing yourself, to absorb every chord, every bubbling bass line and every drum fill, to know every song like you know your own last name. You need to lie down in bed at night and wrap that spot-on four-track production around you like a quilt your grandma made for you. In short, this isn’t a record you like, it’s a record you live.

Added: August 1st 2003
Reviewer: Daniel
Related Link: Dead Beat Record

PUNK FIX.NET
The Knockout Pills s/t, Dead Beat Records - Smoking garage punk at its finest. Why the fuck haven't I heard of this band before this? This record is kicking my ass right now. Really, really solid. Just the right amount of dirtiness and hooks. Get this! Get this! Get this!

HOUSE OF SMUT (ST | LP)
When you play straightforward garage/punk/rock and
roll, it can be really difficult to form your own
identity. Of course, the best bands of this genre are
able to do just that. Kind of like the Knockout Pills
do on this superb self-titled disc of theirs.The sound
of the Knockout Pills could be described as a hybrid
of Radio Birdman, Stop Rock and Roll-era Drags, and
vintage Cheap Trick. This music is to the point and
raw, yet simultaneously melodic and hook-filled, with
just the slightest hint of quirkiness mixed in. The
liberal use of harmony background vocals proves to be
the x-factor which seperates the Knockout Pills from
the rest of the pack. While wearing their influences
openly, this is a band with their own face. Every song
on this album is excellent but there is one standout
track--"Confused". This track is the standout mainly
in terms of the fact its so different from the rest of
the material on the disc. Deviating from the
aforementioned hybrid, "Confused" sees the Knockout
Pills bringing you Pretty Things-styled action,
perfectly. It's not just the fact its different but
that it's just as great as the rest of this album's 13
tracks, in spite of the departure.If you're looking
for a slightly fresher sound in your rock and roll,
the Knockout Pills are sure to fill your prescription.
This is an extremely promising start for an extremely
talented band. A keeper, for sure. Score this CD
directly from DEAD BEAT.

TWILLIGHT CAFE (live review)
Thursday we had another Janitor Jon presents evening of greatness with TOM SAWYER (Chicago) and THE KNOCKOUT PILLS (Tucson) and PORCH HONKEY.
THE KNOCKOUT PILLS killed it, they're great!!

E-PUNK ZINE/ SAN DIEGO PUNK ("1+1=ATE" CD)
9 out of 10
Talk about a killer one-two punch. The Knockout Pills are back with a new album that's anything but sophomoric. Their new full length 1+1=ATE is a prescription dose of high-energy sing-along Punk. These new songs have double the recommended daily allowance of high-calorie Pop tricks and the production is sounding better than ever. Heavyweight indie Estrus knows a bargain when they see one, according to their press release the K.O. Pills did this one at home themselves on a 4 track! The last popstars to sound this great recording in their living room was probably THE SHOES, so kudos to the 'Pills for their DIY 'tude and execution. And speaking of execution, if you haven't heard these guys yet-check them out because they have guillotine-sharp hooks, firing-squad rhythm, and electric-chair power. It's a deadly combo, not to be taken on an empty stomach.
- Scott Bass

FOE ("1+1=ATE" CD)
Lofi, dirty punk rock never sounded so good. I'm sure you are familiar with the Briefs, the reborn power pop punk band that has been kicking the bloated belly of punk rock for the last few years. Well, for as polished as the Briefs are, the Knockout Pills are the polar opposite, cramped and dirty, yet still capable of writing hook filled songs. These dozen tracks were recorded on a 4 track. Yup. Good old fashioned punk rock on a 4 track. Maybe Tucson Arizona doesn't have any decent studios, but I would bet that this was a calculated move on the Knockout Pills part. There are melodies, hooks, garage influences and somehow an Australian punk feel. 60s and 70s punk influences are heard. If you are a fan of the Briefs, Teengenerate, Ramones, The Saints or stripped down rock n roll in any of its incarnations, you will love "1+1=Ate" as much as I do. Killer.

TRAKMARK ("1+1=ATE" CD)
The Knockout Pills come from Tucson (AZ) & they do exactly what it says on the bottle. “1+1 = Ate” is one of the fattest blasts of hi-energy punk, rock n roll yr gonna hear all 2004. This is music built in the garage, for the garage – think The Saints, Radio Birdman, The Real Kids. Think of every great punk rock record you’ve ever heard from the 60s to the 00s – add them all together – give them a good shake. What you’re left with is: “1+1 = Ate”.
The Knockout Pills take you by the back of the brain & slam your forehead into the dashboard repeatedly until you scream: “Alright, already – I’ll buy a fucking copy”. 12 cuts of kerosene soaked boisterousness. Just because you’re a punk rock n roll group – don’t mean you don’t bring the tunes. Right?
Too fucking right. “1+1 = Ate” has more hooks than an abattoir. It’s catchier than AIDS on a back packing holiday through the Aboriginal homelands. The Knockout Pills are yet another essential purchase from Estrus Records – the spiritual home of all things punk, rock. . . & roll!

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL ("1+1=ATE" CD | OCT 2004)
Good up-beat garage-y punk that reminds me of the MARKED MEN, DICKIES, and the DIDJITS. To a lesser extent it also reminds me, in it's more eccentric and soulful 60's moments, of WHITE FLAG, and the LEE HARVEY OSWALD BAND. That's a good thing. (AD)

SONIC WAVE ("1+1=ATE" CD) [translated]
With the breath received to expenses of Ramons, Dead Boys and Real Kids, a singer who seems churumbel of Biafra and cubicaje Digits, The Knockout Pills, that congregates to members of Weird Lovemakers and Resonars & the Federals, become joy, retozo and joy of the punk made in Tucson.
Simplona and infantile title page that introduce, next to frivolous and the mathematical one I title, minimamente do not eclipsan the thirteen cuts of "shit-snot punk n'roll" of this work, that goes through the arc of the triumph, without complexes and of one marked, of principle and the American and British punk end seventy of the eighty.
The Knockout Pills urges to pillar it and to roll it fat. Demonstrating good preparation, and a self-assured and contagious sense of the punk-rock. His it is fine, deserving rubber of of a direct farragoso and double vision.

SLEAZEGRINDER ("1+1=ATE" CD)
Straight outta Tucson Rock City, these former Weird Lovemakers (actually, they still might be making weird love, that’s not really my business) are lo-fi low-lives peddling crackling, 4-track 70’s punk with an 80’s alt-nation twist. Kinda like Husker Du with a slide guitar, or maybe the Scientists with bellies fulla brown gravy, or possibly the Voidoids with a reason to live. On the maybe cleverly titled "1+1=8", KOPs are rowdy and raucous and herky-jerky, but they temper their blunt punk bluster with melodies and hooks to create a non-stop barrage of jumpy almost-hits. Quite pogo-prone, this stuff. Highlights? Well, I can’t really tell one garage punk tune from another, so let’s go with “Stab Wound Baby” and “Do the Skin Crawl”, cuz I like the titles. “1+1” ain’t gonna fuck you up for life or nothin’, but if yr into the Seattle/Portland Skinny Tie Mafia stuff, then you’ll probably wanna gulp down a handful or two of these Pills.

THE ODYSSEY ("1+1=ATE" CD)
The Knockout Pills knocked the wind out of me last summer with their Dead Beat debut. Now they're back with a follow up on Estrus. It's every bit the loud unpredictable mix of 70s punk, garage rock and British invasion, and this time around, things seem to be a little more diverse and dare I say, poppy. This one has definitely won me over, and I am happy to call the Knockout Pills one of my current favorites.

PANACHE/ CRIMEWAVE ("1+1=ATE" CD)
So can the Knockout Pills make a follow-up as good as their debut album? Can lighting strike twice? Well it did, and my god it’s a masterpiece. Hailing out of Tucson and has exs from the Weird Lovemakers, Resonars & Los Federales. This has 13 blistering tracks that will burn in your stereo, and leave you wanting more. Self recorded on a 4-track (after the proposed jump to 8-track was beaten down) this is high energy that’s well crafted, and rocks like American & Aussie punk records of the 70s, garage style trash, British invasion psych sides from the 60’s and pure desert rock n roll. What else do you need in a record? (David Pike)

DAVE McGURGAN ("1+1=ATE" CD)
New LP on Estrus is a ripper. A polished 4-track recording (i.e., it's raw and alive!) with some killer cuts. Fans of Clorox Girls and Marked Men take note.

BLANK GENERATION (LP|Sept 2003)
Here’s some great shit. The Knockout Pills are new to my ears and ah, such a treat! They have a classic Killed by Death punk sound, like AFRIKA CORPS or GIZMOS or something but unleash one fab track right after the other. All rage on the stage with this one... and you cant help but to turn it up WAY loud on a great one like this. You know, its on some records... PLAY LOUD... really though, there needs to be a council created that bands submit releases to and after a few listens a vote is cast seeking majority for a classifying of the term PLAY LOUD on a new release. A unanimous vote would bring about Capital letters in BOLD type with an exclamation mark ( PLAY LOUD! ). Either way, I think the Play Loud Council would vote unanimously, this Knockout Pills CD is definitly a PLAY LOUD! release even though they didn’t even go that route!!!! Such humbleness! No PLAY LOUD! anywhere! Lets face facts: fans of ‘garage rock’ and all that Rip Off Records stuff take note of this CD. Quite honestly, this is one of the best records I have heard in a long while, like since when I first heard The Registrators! Song after song...Hit after fucking hit! Man, this is such a good CD. A Definite Nu-Classic! This is the kind of CD you want playing when you have 200 soldiers outside YOUR palace shooting missiles at you and you know your time is near but hopefully the grim reaper dont call before the last track is played.... The End is the E-N-D! Hit the Deck! PITH RATING: 10 (Go and get one NOW! A MUST-HAVE! Changes perceptions and creates new definitions) -Shawn Abnoxious

ODYSSEY ZINE
The Knockout Pills LP
I don't know if you've ever been fortunate enough to hear an album that accurately represents much of what you love most about rock and roll, but this is one of them for me. I was absolutely, completely floored by this record. That's something that only happens once in a great while. There aren't enough curse words to describe how fucking thrilling this album is from beginning to end. At first spin, you're hearing what could simply be classified as energetic, low-fidelity, punk rock in the Rip-Off records vein. But that's not enough. It's like all of the greatest Rip-Off moments rolled-up into one band. That's not to say that these guys are a clone. They're familiar, but on multiple levels. The Knockout Pills touch on so many amazing things. The Stooges, Back from The Grave, British invasion (ala The Who, Creation, etc.), Crime, Ventures, etc. In short, the Knockout Pills bridge classic snarling punk of the 70s and bellowing 60s garage, surf and psych records that came before. That is something many bands have tried to do. The only difference here is that the Knockout Pills have done it better than any band I've yet heard. I can’t stop listening. This debut is classic, high-octane shit. I'll be surprised if I hear another album this year that I enjoy as much as this one.

THRASHER JULY 2003
The best of Tucson Punk kindly brings to mind stinky armpit, substitute teacher, reject rock - in a good way. It's isolated and honest like a home-done tattoo high on your thigh. It may not be the prettiest or the slickest, but the crude material sure sinks in after the initial sting. It'll be with you long after. The Knockout Pills would be a supergroup if any of the previous bands had been famous, comprimising of the dearly missed Weird Lovemakers, Los Federales, and the Resonars. Rings no bell as to what the sound like? Chain the Zombies up to a pickup truck, drag through Scared of Chaka's high desert, drop it in a bubblin' vat of Motard grease, and give it a third degree sunburn. If visions of a duct-taped touring van and low-budget rock at it's finest are dancing through your head, you're focusing on the right picture.
- Retodd

THRASHER
JULY 2003

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL
(LP|Aug 2003 | #243)
The KNOCKOUT PILLS start out with plenty of gusto and verve. Solid power pop that'll knock yer socks off. Get it NOW! (HM)

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL
AUG 2003

KDVS
Sound: Punk
Music: S/T Debut
Why: Right after hitting the play button you're already dancing your ass off.


NOW WAVE (CD |August 25 update)
Alright! Alright! Alright! Garage punk is popular now. What was uncool in 1993 is hip in 2003. Everyone’s buying Rip Offs, Teengenerate and Mummies records and taking notes. Bands are popping up across the nation and around the world. All these bands take their pawnshop guitars, press record on their shitty four track and release their sonic disasters onto an unsuspecting punk rock populace. Most of these bands have no sense of melody and couldn’t find a hook in a fucking bait and tackle shop. Unlike most of these children of the lo-fi revolution, the Knockout Pills know the importance of a good hook and aren’t afraid to use them. These guys can flat out write great songs that are catchy without sacrificing that raw, trashy energy that makes garage punk so great. Also unlike many of these new garage punk bands, the Knockout Pills are not dependent on their idols. While I do hear shades of Teengenerate and the Saints (especially in the vocals which come off as a cross between Fink and Chris Bailey...fucking cool!!!), it’s easy to see that the Knockout Pills have done something many bands today either can’t or aren’t willing to do…..achieve their own sound. So do yrself a favor and get this.....now!!!
---Troy Canady

TUCSON WEEKLY
Suffice to say that if you haven't seen them, you're missing out on some of the finest punk rock and roll that Tucson has to offer...
(read full article here)

MELODIK (LP)
Autant la précédente livraison Dead Beat déchirait sa race, autant cette fois on a un peu du mal à se jeter dans la bataille (et Fontaine ?). Ca s’arrange pas mal avec KOP, du fait de la variété (du verbe varier) de leur compos et du background musical qu’il semble posséder au long de leur album. Loin d’une enfilade bruyante, KoP parvient à afficher un sourire complice sur la face explosée de l’auditeur. « Reject Button » sonne punk année 80 (punk wave) avec des guitares qui feraient presque penser à U2 (non on reste là, ce n’est pas insultant !), on y côtoie les New Bomb Turks, en plus pop, et on plonge chez les Plimsouls (dont vous me ferez l’essai, ils ont inventé en partie la power pop américaine). L’harmonica relève le goût, la batterie sonne Bo diddley pure RnR… Sans être le bazar de chez Mr Aziz, les gars connaissent leur histoire du rock, s’en imprègnent et en sortent quelque chose de perso. Un album qui s’écoute et même se réécoute.

MELODIK (LP) ("Automatic translation")
As much the preceding delivery Dead Beat tore its race, as much this time there is a little evil to throw oneself in the battle (and Fountain?). Ca s?arrange not badly with KOP, because of the variety (of the verb to vary) of their compos and of the musical background qu?il seems to have with the length of their album. Far d?une enfilade noisy, KoP manages to post a smile accessory on the face exploded to l?auditeur. "Reject Button" rings punk year 80 (punk wave) with guitars which would almost make think of U2 (not one remains there, this is not insulting!), one there mixes with the New Bomb Turks, what's more pop, and one plunges to Plimsouls (of which you will make me l?essai, they invented the American pop power partly). L’harmonica raises the taste, the battery rings Bo diddley pure RnR Without being the bazaar from Mr. Aziz, the guy know their history of the rock'n'roll, s’en impregnate and some go out something of perso. An album that s’écoute and even itself réécoute.

ODYSSEY ZINE (Ego page)
Let me finish with this... THE KNOCKOUT PILLS ARE SO FUCKING GOOD! DO NOT LET THIS BAND PASS YOU BY. YOU MUST HEAR THE KNOCKOUT PILLS! THEY ARE THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF ROCK AND ROLL. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING!