Chicago punk often doesn't make a lick of sense. It's too Midwestern-ly polite to be hardcore, and too hip and edgy for proper pop-punk. And in that space of uncertainty we get awesome up-and-comers like Cel Ray. Their six-track Cellular Raymond tape is a scattershot of punk devotion that gleefully shuffles context and meaning. "Surf's Up (Garfield Park)" clings to its titular genre, but surfing Lake Michigan ain’t exactly manageable. "Clock Me Out" could be a savage attack on capitalism if it weren't so undeniably charming. And "Dog War" has the makings of a post-punk ballad that quickly goes to the dogs (literally). But a nebulous identity suits these kids; their pinball approach to punk is born out of a truly Midwestern mix of hard work/devotion and an aw-shucks level of openness. It makes Cellular Raymond ring true with that most punk-ish tenet: a frenetic passion to ideas both shiny and oh-so important.
6.8/10: A soundtrack for skeezy summers in Lake View.
LIYL: Negative Scanner, Uranium Club, and barcades
Get The Album Here.