The Weirdos have never been known for their consistency, but you can't fault their longevity. The band's sporadic release schedule can be traced back to the '70s, when the Southern California act first brandished its own version of proto-punk rock.

Prominently displaying the group's musical calling card on its cover ("We Got the Neutron Bomb"), this sixteen-song collection compiles various loose ends from the band's career. The first two tunes -- especially the compelling "Cyclops Helicopter" -- were originally released on the Frontier Records Condor LP, and are the best-recorded songs of the batch, showcasing the band's bizarre sense of humor and ability to surpass the three-chord ditty standard. However, the album's purchase price is truly justified b the seething politi-punk title track and the Cliff Roman-penned "Destroy All Music", both culled from the original (and far out-of-print) seven-inches. Both tunes reveal a band caught somewhere in between the sardonic punk rock of the seventies and the pre-keyboard new wave that followed it. The skittering, pseudo-danceable beats and politically-charged lyrics separate The Weirdos' sound from their East Coast contemporaries; in their day, they helped to define Los Angeles's burgeoning Pacific punk scene.

A few live and unreleased recordings add appeal for longtime Weirdos followers; We Got the Neutron Bomb includes everything from live Whisky a Go Go sessions to dress rehearsal recordings, all of them rough around the edges, with Roman's guitar squealing into feedback heaven and John Denney angrily shrieking barbed lyrics about the depravity of American culture. Check it out -- it's Californian punk rock from a time before California knew punk rock existed!