Go Betty Go - Nothing Is More

The problem with Go Betty Go’s first album, Nothing Is More, is that it’s too much in love with the “idea” of punk. It boasts a quality production, and the band itself is highly capable, but instead of forging a newer, fresher sound, these four girls from Los Angeles settle for paying lip service to the past. They pump out songs about rebellion, desperation, freedom: All punk platitudes whose banality is exaggerated by the kinetic snarl of the drums and guitar. There are some numbers where the band breaks from type and dumps this simulated sound and fury; unsurprisingly, these pieces are among the more interesting ones on the album. But these tunes, such as “The Pirate Song,” which features ex-Pogue James Fearnley on the accordion and producer Ted Hutt on the banjo, and the Spanish language track “No Hay Perdon,” are few and far between, leaving you with what is essentially a paint by numbers punk album. Stale and manufactured, it’s more artificial than art. [www.gobettygo.com]