Continuing the Captain Oi tradition of rereleasing some unearthed gems from back in the day comes this CD of The Outcasts. This was my first introduction to the band and I had never heard of them before. Good thing Mark Brennan does good liner notes huh?

The actual album ‘Self Conscious Over You’ doesn’t really grab me much at all. Awkward sounding slow power pop/early punk rock that lacks confidence and could do without the seemingly random addition of saxaphone on some tracks. They sound like the poor cousins of fellow countrymates Stiff Little Fingers and the Undertones. Good thing I stuck with it though. The bonus tracks of their 1978 7"es are really, really good. Half a dozen songs of catchy, passionate melodic punk rock. I’m into it, kinda sounds like the Buzzcocks crossed with the Undertones or something. Cool songs like "Don’t Wanna Be No Adult", "You’re A Disease", "Love Is For Sops" lead the way. Worth it for these half a dozen tracks alone, especially if you’re into first wave punk without all the art pretension.