Steve Adamyk Band

by Jason Lymangrover

Ottawa’s roots-punk Steve Adamyk Band wear their influences loudly and proudly, but anyone who listens to them knows they have a lot more to offer than just a revival of the Ramones, Buzzcocks, and Dickies (who they cover, with “X-Eyed Tammy”). Power pop and straight-ahead hard rock inform their sound as much as raunchy punk from 1977, and Forever Won’t Wait is the album where they begin to prove just how thoroughly solid they can be, after a less than stellar self-titled debut. With 16 tracks, all around the one- or two-minute mark, there isn’t a sleeper to be found on board. They could all be singles. Each song is a quick and crispy amped-up rocker, with a sugar-soaked hook to balance out the vintage raunch and modern-day blast. While it’s been well publicized that lead singer/guitarist Steve Adamyk is the chief songwriter, drummer Dave Williams, bassist Davey Quesnelle, and second guitarist Emmanuel Sayer play with a tightness that only a band with years of camaraderie could share. Forever Won’t Wait rocks hard, and though there are hints of nostalgia, it seems timeless and is packed full of good fun from front to back. - Allmusic.com

It’s been a semi-quiet year for shows in the local punk/garage rock scene as many of the Ottawa bands that have been blowing up in recent years took to the road or worked at albums. The Steve Adamyk Band (formerly Million Dollar Marxists/Sedatives) were no exception in their travels, but could still only partially fill the deluge of requests from out-of-town promoters. Luckily for hometown fans, only a year after their self-titled debut they also found time to knock out a follow-up LP, Forever Won’t Wait – a worthy second instalment of original up-for-it riffs like Ontario, Gonna Die and Bored of Love. From the urgent first notes of opening track Take It Back you can tell the band are in the shape of their lives. Forever, at least in an underground sense, won’t need to wait if they can sustain this quality. - Hour

A portion of you may know Steve Adamyk from his bands MILLION DOLLAR MARXISTS and SEDATIVES. If so, you’ll most likely dig this sophomore release from his own STEVE ADAMYK BAND endeavor, and for those who aren’t familiar with his work, you’ll probably just love Forever Won’t Wait just ‘cos it freakin’ rules. From the pop-punk of the two initial tracks, “Take It Back” and Let It Slide,” to the sweet power pop of “Forever Won’t Wait” and “Bored Of Love” to the straight-up snotty punk of “I Run Wild” and “Gonna Die,” this is one seriously good punk record. Some of this reviewer’s favorites include the aforementioned total in-your-face punk-as-fuck “I Run Wild,” and it’s follow-up “Gonna Die,” as well as the awesome, somewhat calmer but insanely powerful “Never Wake Up,” and the garagey-cool, seductive “Election Day.” And to add to the coolness factor, the band end this 11-song stunner with a killer version of THE DICKIES’ “X-Eyed Tammy” (“Cross-Eyed Tammy”). Fun fun fun. “Never Wake Up” (Janelle Jones) - AMP Magazine

By Nicole VilleneuveJust a year ago, after a string of well-received singles, Ottawa, ON's Steve Adamyk Band released their debut full-length on P.Trash Records. At the time, they claimed that their sophomore release would be out in the fall of 2011, and they delivered on time, and on a new label, Portland's Dirtnap, with Forever Won't Wait. Churning out more of the garage power-punk'n'roll that's become somewhat of a defining sound of the currently small, but terrifically prolific and incestuous, Ottawa scene, the former Million Dollar Marxists/Sedatives members are near the top of this game. There's a great Dickies cover thrown in for good measure ("X-Eyed Tammy"), but the standouts are their own, with "I Run Wild," "Gonna Die" and the hasty "Ontario" solidifying the group's brattier Buzzcocks leanings, while "Bored of Love" and "Never Wake Up" hint at the work of the late Jay Reatard. At this rate, the Steve Adamyk band will wind up leaving a hearty and memorable legacy in Canadian underground music.
(Dirtnap) - Exclaim!