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There are a few albums out there that I think really capture the zeitgeist of Los Angeles. There's X's aptly titled Los Angeles with it's gritty tales of love and death in the city of angels, there's Black Flag's My War and it's claustrophobic, dry-heat, "slowly losing it" vibe. There's the Gun Club's Fire of Love, Saccharine Trust's Paganicons, The Germs (GI) and even Motley Crue's Shout At The Devil. All of them do a fine job of conveying the lonliness, desire, passion, violence, and stifling heat of L.A. Now let's add It's Casual's album The New Los Angeles to the list. It's Casual are from L.A., and they obviously have a love/hate relationship with their hometown. This record is both an homage to, and an indictment of their sprawling, smog-choked burg. Songs about LAPD, cholo life, cars, guns, and freeways, played with a Black Flag-like hostility. It's Casual obviously dig Black Flag, but really, who doesn't? Just two dudes, a fucking staggering wall of amplification, and Los Angeles, that fucking whore, as the muse. Seriously, this will floor you like a slab of concrete to Reginald Denny's dome.