Round Eye is a group of expat freak punks from Shanghai, China, with nary a Chinaman in the band. Fronted by former Libyan Hit Squad frontman Craig "Chachy" Englund in 2012, the rest come from America, Ireland and Italy. Round Eye plays an unconventional blend of 50s R&B, free jazz and punk, with influences that include the Stooges, Captain Beefheart, Dr. Feelgood and The Fall. 'Culture Shock Treatment' was produced by Mike Watt and mixed by Bill Stevenson (Black Flag/Descendents/ALL), so you know the album is a quality product. Round Eye won the "Best Local Band" title two years in a row from Shanghai's City Weekend magazine, no small feat for a bunch of occidental non-tourists.

If this was just another punk rock album it wouldn't get reviewed here at Chain D.L.K. (please don't send me punk rock promos; I won't review 'em) but 'Culture Shock Treatment' is different. Sure, at the core is that fighting, abrasive punk rock spirit, but there are also plenty of anomalies - sax as a lead instrument; Sha Na Na style '50s harmonies mixed with Zappa-esque chord changes and accents; totally weird free jazz elements; time signature changes more native to prog-rock acts like King Crimson and Gentle Giant than any punk rock or hardcore acts, and much more. One listen to "The Foreigner" (one of the less bizarre tracks off this album) should convince you this ain't your daddy's punk rock. One listen to "Circumstances" ought to prove these guys really can channel Beefheart, harmonica and all. There's swampy, bluesy R'n'B ("Red Crimes"); dystopian mayhem ("An Opportunity of a Lifetime"); a strange number entirely in Italian ("Uomo Moderno") with a fast speak-over and brief but slower sung chorus; and even a song that sounds like a collaboration between Suicide and Tuxedo Moon ("Endless Sleep"). But...this band can crank out a traditional Ramones-like punker now and then too - "Catatonic (I'm Not a Communist" being a prime example.

It's the lyrics though that really makes this outfit interesting. "Smoke stack stack stack stack stack, Got a commie eruption, Smoke stack stack, Red Hong Kong invasion; Gas, riot in the streets, People gotta score to settle, 1989 in a heartbeat, Tankman ready for battle, come on..." ("Smokestack"); and the great culture wall- "...Chinese expectations, are they laid out nice and neat, Mom and Dad don't like me do they, think I'm a foreign freak. Emotions are irrelevant, Face is all they know, Money chokes the heart in an instant, Dead from head to toe...." ("Guess Who's Coming To Dinner") just to quote a couple. Lots more where that came from.

Now Round Eye isn't some group of anonymous underground dissidents; this is an acclaimed band with a strong visible presence performing live whenever and wherever they can. What I'd like to know is how they get away with it in the uber-repressive People's Republic of China. For that alone and managing to still freely create music (much of which is critical of the regime) and not get locked up for it is mind blowing. If you only buy one punk rock oriented album this year, it ought to be 'Culture Shock Treatment' because it's just that important to freedom of expression in music, and also because it sounds pretty damn fine.