The Finger

New York City hardcore punks the Finger gather the raw energy from their initial pair of EPs, We Are Fuck You and Punk's Dead Let's Fuck, onto the combined release titled We Are Fuck You/Punk's Dead Let's Fuck. Alt-country crooner Ryan Adams and ex-D Generation frontman Jesse Malin initiated the Finger endeavor, though the pair would prefer that detail remain unknown. Their shared punk origins turn this album into a return to those defiant adolescent years. Adams already projects considerable artistic self-assurance, and the Finger project essentially mocks that trait. The 20-song set delivers its forceful impact without any concession to mainstream expectations. Listeners willing to explore Adams and Malin's lighthearted venture may feel let down while missing the joke entirely, whereas others might appreciate the Finger's deliberately idiotic punk mimicry. The use of pseudonyms such as Warren Peace for Adams and Irving Plaza for Malin further underscores how little seriousness the Finger attaches to itself. Jim Beahm, also known as artist Colin Burns, supplies the whisky-soaked growl, while Rick O'Shea, credited as Johnny T., adds the thunderous drums that round out the Finger's innocuous rock approach. The album We Are Fuck You/Punk's Dead Let's Fuck, said to have been written and tracked spontaneously in a single day, had previously been pressed in a run of just 1,000 copies.