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Click on a cover to see reviews from that issue |
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Calling All Destroyers - Hell Bent For Pleather
One of the things missing from many of today’s “throw back” Rock outfits (bands who claim to be raised on 70’s Rock) is the duelling
guitar bands. Yeah, we have “Jam Bands”, but none of those bands “duel” the way The Outlaws did once upon a time.
But then there is Chicago’s Calling All Destroyers and the dual guitar assault and battle of brothers Johnny and Jimmy, which is the main selling point at this time with the band.
Muscially the band sounds like a mix of 70’s Rock with more than a liberal helping of 80’s Metal and Punk.
Opening track “Keep Your Art Out Of My Rock” lets you know right away what the band is about, as the song runs for 6+ minutes and ends with almost 2 ½ minutes of solid duelling guitars. It’s a beautiful way to start the disc out.
But it’s the energy, originality, and groove of the second song “Murder Scene” that is going to keep me coming back. Make no mistake though, here again is a fine bit of soloing.
Every song features killer guitar work, solid drumming with a bass that drives it all home.
If there is a weak point to the band, it’s the exact same area that someday I expect to be one of the stronger points, and that would be lead vocalist Fiore. At times on this release he sounds like he is trying to find his voice and making the wrong choices, such as the chorus of “Nightmare Man”, but then at other times he really lets loose and you hear just how good he is, as on the track “Metal Meltdown” and its chorus. Seeing these guys live a few months ago, I also saw how good he is live, and heard how good he is live. I expect on the next release he will be well on his way.
Expect to hear more out of these guys in the future, and expect them to get flashier in the guitar area, and for the vocals and guitars to start battling for the limelight. |
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Dawn Shipley and the Sharp Shooters - Baby If I…
I love Dawn, and I really love her guitarist, Marcel Riesco. Then there is the rest of the band, who is nothing to sneeze at, Randy Stanton on bass and Tony De Herrera on drums. Between the four of them they capture Rockabilly at its finest, and purest.
As all great Rockabilly does, Dawn and her gang of cowpokes walk the fine line of “Rockabilly” and all out Country, and when they dip into the Country form it makes you wonder just what the heck has happened to that style of music.
Tunes like the title track I could listen to all damn day long. The guitar playing is so damn smooth, so fluid. Add into that the quick stepping of the snare inbetween the lines in the verses, and the song is just so damn cool.
How long should I go on about the playing on this thing? I just love the guitar playing so much! Dawn obviously knows how great her band is, and we get a little more “showcasing” with the wonderful instrumental “Sharp Shootin’”! That guitar tone man!
But the voice, Dawn, that’s a major part of all the stuff going on here, so excuse my guitar dorkiness.
Sultry when she wants to be, and “butt kicking” when she needs to be. Between Dawn’s voice, and the smooth guitar on “Goin’ Crazy”, the ice outside is starting to melt. Visions of a smoky club, cigarettes, rocks glasses, black walls, it’s all here.
Then back to rocking on “One Cup Of Coffee” and after the mellow side of “Goin’ Crazy” you can really hear the strength that Dawn has in her voice.
The band moves quick, real quick at times, as on songs like “Full Moon Keeps On Shining”, but they thankfully never step into Psychobilly realms. From start to finish this is pretty much all traditional stuff.
The voice, the musicianship, the production and clarity that lets all of the musical aspects shine through, all make this a “must have” for anybody into traditional style Rockabilly, Country, or even anybody who admires killer guitar playing. |
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Gunsmoke - The Kitchen Sessions
Lets stick with Rockabilly for a few minutes here, O.K.?
As you may have picked up on by now I am not a fan of Psychobilly, which is an odd thing. I love Rockabilly, I love Punk, and I love Horror films, all three being major parts of the Psychobilly genre. But I’ve just never been able to get into it. In my opinion Rockabilly was Punk to begin with, so combining it with the speed of Punk is just a bit silly, and the only way the speed in it sounds right is if you have some really solid musicians throughout the band. One mediocre musician will kill the songs, and most Psychobilly bands will have one mediocre musician in the band.
The use of Horror films has always just been a bit silly, as most of these bands also deal with necrophilia as a main topic. I’ve just never caught the connection with Rockabilly and Horror films. Maybe Ed Wood was a member of a Rockabilly trio at one point. I don’t know.
All this brings us around to Gunsmoke, a band who bills themselves on their page as “Rockabilly / Country / Punk”. Whenever I see “Rockabilly” and “Punk” mentioned together I instantly think the band is going to be Psychobilly.
Well, surprise, surprise! Gunsmoke is actually a rather refreshing change in the style of Rockabilly!
Now, there is no doubt this band is Rockabilly, the guitar riffs, slap bass, drumming, everything is Rockabilly. But underneath it all there is no doubt this band was influenced by the Punk scene. This influence shows up in the vocals, such as the chorus of “Watch It Burn” and especially in the killer tune “Not The One”.
The band also plays it smart in that they don’t try and do the super-speed thing. The musicianship is just fine, but at a higher speed it may not have held it together as well as it does at the mid-pace that they stick to.
At the time this disc was recorded the band had been together for 3 months! That’s a pretty crazy idea. They seem much more comfortable than that, and much smoother. So either these guys will be stunning in a few years time, or this is all a crazy little fluke.
Oh, and by the way, they’re another band from Canada. I’m telling you, that damn country is starting to scare the crap out of me! |
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Judder And The Jack Rabbits - EP
This is proving to be a hell of a review to write. This is the third stab at the bastard. I’m just going to let it fly.
I like Judder and The Jack Rabbits. I like their feel, I like the
energy. I like the songs. The stand-up bass sounds great, the drums sound great, vocalist John has a killer voice. They remind me of an 80’s Punk band, and their three song demo makes me think of a few of the demos I received back in the 80’s.
But the guitar tone, oh, the guitar tone. Somebody get Nav an amp, please. Hell man, I’ll drive mine on over to you! The guitar is just lacking a punch that would make these songs scream!
Then when Nav goes clean tone, it just loses more. What we need to do here, is get the guy a good set-up, or work on that sound.
The disc starts out with a wonderful stand-up bass slapping away and right there I have to admit I smiled. Some things in life will always get a smile on my face and a stand-up is one of those things. Oh, I know, it’s nothing unusual in a band of Rockabilly or Psychobilly, or any other “billy” band. They all use it, but it’s that critter that will help attract you to the style, and when you hear it, it’s one of those things you need to hear, and you want to hear. I wasn’t 100% sure that Judder and gang were completely in that style, but when it started, it was a bit of a home coming.
But anyways, the damn thing starts slapping away, that smile grows on my face, then the guitar and vocals come in, and well, it’s a little weak on that guitar. The Psychobilly section of the song is a little weak, but then the band break into the “Punk” aspect of the song, and it all starts to work quite well. What “Death For The Dead” is about exactly, I have no idea. But I’m telling ya, as a Punk tune, it’s pretty friggin’ nice, and the guitar is fine for it.
“Looked At Me” is quite the stand-out song on the disc. Really, this whole song works very well, and will get much play in my house. This is a song that when you hear it you know that this is a band to pay attention to, and you can have hopes for. John’s voice is killer on this one. It reminds me a bit of early TSOL for some reason. Definitely has a California Punk feel to it, which is odd since these guys are UK based. Oddly, my earlier complaints about the guitar on this can be applied to numerous Cali Punks from the early 80’s. I love The Adolescents, but I hate their guitar tone on the first album at times, same goes for early TSOL.
Song three, “No Hope”, really reminds me of TSOL for some odd reason. But this is another winner of a tune. This time out, even when the music drops down and the guitar goes slightly clean (single noting it also) it works this time out.
This is a demo basically that the band was funded the money to do. They have only been around for a year now. Those two things taken into consideration, I would actually expect a hell of a good future turnout from these guys. They have it in them, that’s for sure. I just have to get over the guitar, but that should be no big deal. I like the tunes, and I love the voice. |
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Jukebox Zeros - Welcome To Rutsville
Jukebox Zeros - Four On The Floor
Damn these guys make me think of Jeff Dahl! Vocally the similarities are there, but also just in the attitude.
On the debut E.P. Welcome To Rutsville we kick off with a great rocking number with piano wailing away in the background, and just an all around great classic RnR sound.
Second up is the killer “Stutterstop”, a song that throws me back to a different time. The title, chorus, damn near everything about it reminds me of the 70’s New York scene. Yeah, obviously these guys are influenced by that scene, and you get the Thunders guitar breaks, and the obvious nods to the fallen legends, but that one song fits better to that time period than many other bands have
accomplished.
Song 5, my pick of the litter, actually carries more of a Rolling Stones vibe than anything else to my ears. The double timed drums along with the “Oo, oo, oo” backing vocals all just settle into your brain and get that foot tapping.
Though they have that New York sound going on, they cover an Iggy and the Stooges tune, “Kill City”, and it kills! Nice version.
The whole of Rutsville is of that style. If you enjoy Jeff Dahl’s sound, or that of The Heartbreakers and/or Jayne County, then this is obviously up your alley.
Moving onto their full length, Four On The Floor (with it’s great, great, great cover art!) we find the band deciding to expand on their sound. No, don’t expect any great changes such as them sounding like Keith Urban or any crap, but from the beginning tune with the flanged out guitar, you get the idea something is up. But then Peter starts singing and you remember they ain’t going too far from what you want.
But “Yeah You”, the second song, well, talk about a “crowd pleaser” if I have ever heard one! I’m trying to think of who it reminds me of, but I keep thinking of something maybe like J. Geils Band, minus the keyboards. But its that hooky type of tune that you hear and expect to see arms in the air at the show, all the while the band bounces around on stage. Just a fun, killer tune!
Oh hell, who am I kidding, the style is the same as before, but there is more life in this recording. Man, what is it with the CD’s I got sent to me? Why is it every one is growing on me more and more as I listen to them? Oh yeah, it’s a great style of music, ain’t it?
Anyways, “You’re My Favorite Drug” starts to show some serious variety out of these guys, and Peter’s voice starts to take on a new life. It’s a serious rocker, moving at an almost plodding pace, but not slow. Killer tune.
“Death Of The Drive-In” is our big departure. It’s a slower number and causes one to think of a slower number done by the old Rock and Roll stars who had lived the rough life. You’ll understand when you hear it.
The album closes with another cover, this time it’s “High Tension Wire” by the mighty Dead Boys. To me the Boys are one of the truly tough bands to cover, as nobody will ever touch dear ol’ Stiv. But Jukebox does their best and it is an admirable job. No Dead Boys, but done with enough care to make it count.
Jukebox Zeros are a heck of a cool band. The image they get across due to the cover of Four On The Floor works great with the sound. Both releases are worthy of your time, but Four is the stand-out, as it should be. I’ll give it the old “solid musicianship, solid song writing, and solid production”! |
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Love Injections - Breakfast For Champions
It’s always killed me. Rock and Roll was more or less invented in the US. The stuff is based in the Blues and old Country. Yet in the 60’s the style was taken over by the folks in the U.K., such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, and eventually moved into the 70’s and bands like Led Zep and Faces. Now, I am not speaking of anything that is a revelation to you readers, and if any of you go running out now in search of any of those bands I just mentioned, please never buy another issue of Sonic Ruin again, as you are an idiot. But what kills me is that those bands, from the U.K., chose to adopt into their singing style that Country twang, and many of them have that “U.S. of A.” Blues/Country sound to their playing, yet when speaking they don’t sound like any “redneck” I have ever met, and I have met a shitload.
Now here I sit listening to The Love Injections…from Sweden. O.K., now they aren’t the first “Rock And Roll” band I have ever heard from Sweden, and I am pretty dang sure they won’t be the last. But here again, Country accents, and then they go one further: the final song on this dang thing may as well be a Replacements song, and they were from Minneapolis Minnesota!
But anyhow, “is it good” you ask. Well, have some patience and I will tell you. I swear, some of you just have no respect for fine writing.
Yes, The Love Injections are a damn fine band. Full on Rock and Roll that would make Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, and any of the old guys proud, if they could give a shit to actually care about the style they helped to perfect anymore.
Opening song “Down And Out” reminds me of Georgia Satellites meeting with The Stones at a dingy bar in Memphis. O.K., I lie, I only drove through Memphis once, and it was 2 in the morning and I was on my way to Texas, so I have no idea what goes on in dingy bars in Memphis…but I can only guess. But the tune is all mid-paced groovin’ guitars in that standard RnR rhythm. You know it, you can hear it in your head.
“Dead Weight” really reminds me of Faces. The tone on those guitars in the beginning is all Faces, that combo of electric and acoustic that Wood did so perfectly.
“Dirty Green Black and Blue” starts our sounding like Generation X, but then moves into a Stonesy thing, then takes on it’s own life. The song is a pure drinking tune and would have to be played to close out the night. It’s the perfect song to close out and for the crowd to raise their drinks in the air to salute a raucous evening of good RnR.
The fourth tune is a little instrumental ditty of acoustic guitars and a stomping bass drum with claps. Cool little tune that you could only find on a great RnR release.
The final tune is the aforementioned Replacements sounding tune. Mellow, but with that Paul Westerberg drunken melancholy with a single clean guitar, and a slow shuffled drum in the background as the bass plucks the accenting notes. Too cool.
All in all, a five song EP that is worth your time from start to finish. I’ll never understand how Sweden sounds more U.S. than so many of the bands here, and more-so that almost every single friggin’ Country act, but I will just be thankful that somebody has chosen to preserve this countries musical history, even if it ain’t us. |
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MISS 45 - S/T EP
Upon my first listen to Miss 45’s debut EP I was a little dismayed. It opens with an “intro” track which is mostly a throw-away, nothing really going on but somebody talking after the sound of an airplane.
We then move into the first tune, “High Healed Bitches”, which sounds pretty much the same as “Pills”, with a voice in the chorus that may as well be David Johansen himself. It’s not a bad song, but it’s also nothing really new. It’s grown on me with more listens though. I like it’s energy, especially on the guitar solo.
Song 3 starts to pick up the action a bit more. The band starts to gain its identity here, even through the standard Johnny Thunders fills and bends, which I am getting really sick of. But the chorus has a nice hook on it.
Song 4, “I Don’t Care” is where the band comes to life 100% and is the reason you need to buy this damn CD. You want a great chorus? Check this one out! It’s got a great hook with its “Oh, oh-oh oh” backing voice and it’s rolling snare. It sounds like one of those songs that as a band after you write it, you play the chorus over and over again just due to how much fucking fun it is to play! The song is a winner.
Lastly we have “Don’t Wanna Be Like That” which is a bit of a slow down…with Thunders-style playing on it. Good song.
On “High Healed Bitches” vocalist Eric Beretta struggles a bit, but it might be on purpose. The rest of the time he works quite well. The drumming is solid, and the guitar riffing (when not doing the Thunders stuff) is cool stuff, with a nice tone. The backing vocals are fun 60’s surf Pop style (think Beach Boys/Jan and Dean), but a little rough around the edges, which adds to some of their charm.
I look forward to more from these guys for sure, and I really hope they find more of their own voice, and smooth out the backing vocals. If you are a Dolls, Stones, or to bring it modern, Soda-Pop Kids fan, get a hold of this and you will be very happy. |
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Overloaded - S/T
In my area cover bands are the rule. If you form a band and plan to play original material you can forget about ever getting out and playing shows, and you had better forget about ever making any kind of money. It’s pure artistic
suicide. You want to make money playing music, form a cover band. If you’re good, you can make a killing.
To deal with the lack of artistic creativity some of these bands form side bands to do their original material. This is how we come to Overloaded, a band that started life as a cover band.
Overloaded play ROCK. I’m talking serious ROCK with impressive musicianship, and a hell of a vocalist. You want to hear vocal acrobatics? Well, look no further than the very first song (“Hellfire”) on this disc! Be warned though, if you have an aversion to high pitched voices, at times you might be turned off. But if you enjoy hearing a guy flex the hell out of his vocal chords, you will be happy. The guitars are all Metal/Rock. BIG guitars, BIG drums, powerful bass, it’s all here!
“Feeling Overloaded”, the second song, walks a fine line towards “Stoner Rock” with its killer grooving hook, but man, what a killer song.
At times there is a bit of an Alice In Chains feel to the songs, such as “Zygote”. The material gets fairly dark in tones and the groove turns into that classic Alice sound. But then at times we are standing in pure Metal territory, such as the following track “War Of The Worlds” and “King Of The Landfill” and this change in style probably has a lot to do with their cover band past.
The tunes like “Cyclone”, Heavy Metal Highway” and “Shotgun City” are all pure ROCK, from the lyrics to the chugging music.
At times Overloaded make me think back to Spread Eagle and what they seemed to promise. The wandering between a pure all out Rock band, with Metal leanings and then touches of the Alice are all Spread. At times the vocals even sound similar to Ray West.
If you are looking for some great ROCK/Metal, some extremely strong guitar playing and music that does make you want to get behind the wheel to your car and just punch it, with the music turned all the way up, then you should probably check these guys out and hope to hell somebody out there starts paying them enough money to keep them from ever
going back to their cover band roots! |
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Redeye - Rock Solid
Back when I was in my first band…second band…third band…fourth band, when it came time to record our first demo we took our money to the studio and crammed in as many tunes as we possibly could. $500 got us about 5 songs if we worked fast in the recording, then kind of fast in the mix. We had to know our gear before hand so that set-up would be as quick as possible. We experimented for a few weeks before hand finding the best guitar tones for recording purposes. We never, ever, thought to take that $500 and record one fucking song and make it sound incredible!
I sit here with the demo from Redeye, and it’s one song, the tune “Rock Solid”. The aforementioned idea of taking your money and recording one song only is just a guess. I arrive at this guess due to the fact that there is only one song here, but the badboy sounds killer! This is not a “demo” sound at all, but rather a full blown major label production sound. These guitars are beautiful in tone, the drums are solid, the bass mixes in perfectly, and the backing vocals are full and lively.
Musically these guys are exactly what they claim to be influence-wise. They sound like they should be playing in the UK circa 1980. They sound like they are the forgotten sons of the NWOBHM, and in a very good way. The vocals are almost how Joe Elliot sounded back when On Through The Night first came out.
Redeye puts out the tune in just under 3 minutes, but those three minutes are great sounding in both recording and writing, and it leaves one anxious to hear what else they have under their hats, which is a perfect result from a first demo. |
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Rockets To Ruin - Love*Drugs*Rebellion
Every so often you see a name attached to a band in the role of a producer, and you just know what the band is going to sound like. In the case of Rockets To Ruin the name is Rachel Bolan from Skid Row. If in your mind you are thinking of that “Metal/Sleaze/Street/Rock” thing that Skid does, you aren’t that far off the mark. No frilly Pop or Emo in this area, this pure in your face ROCK.
Upon the first listen my ears perked up right away due to a big production. The guitars are crunchy and in your face. But as the first song (“We Are The Drugs”) progresses you get a bit of a “been there, done that” feel, and none of it really hits home.
When the song “Take A Ride With Me” started, I was even further disappointed in that it sounds very similar to the first song, but just slowed down a bit. Very similar riffs are used between the two songs, and at first I thought maybe it was just a bridge for the first tune. But the pre-chorus and chorus helps to pull the tune up and give it reason to keep playing.
But when the third song “Devil Girl” comes on the disc starts to really get moving. Again, you’re heard similar no doubt, but the groove and the energy starts to show up now.
“Screamin’ At Me” has a really nice “open” side to all it’s noise. Nice chorus (“makin’ drugs/smokin’ smokes” might read a little silly, but it sounds great) and the loose feel to it all makes it really groove.
If the album had started out with tunes like “Helpless” and “Gotta Go, Gotta Roll” it probably would have stuck with me straight off the start. I always complain about bands that don’t end debut releases with a punch, so here is a band that does go for that.
The songs all carry the big, crunchy guitars. Production is a bit odd at times, and a little “splashy”, but the rawness and punch is always on top and it never suffers under any sound faults.
On first listen Love*Drugs*Rebellion didn’t set my life on fire, but there is no doubt that with each listen it’s grown on me. Before getting into the meat of this review I was sure I was going to more or less give this a very mediocre review. But as time has passed during the writing, I have given it a few more spins, and now as I sit here finishing it up, I am finding myself enjoying it. Hell, I bet if I re-review it in a year I will probably have a
shinning review for you all. Also as a side note, my buddy Tom who is on a big Sleaze kick as of the moment recommended this to me and is in love with it, but I already had it. So, there is a “love it” review from Tom. |
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S’Cool Girls - A bunch of stuff they sent me
About a year ago it was starting to look like there was going to be a massive revival of 70’s style Glam. In the “underground” we had Supergroupies making a fairly large splash over in Sweden. Robin Black had released his Instant Classic album. Louis XIV was also starting to make a big name for themselves and their blatant Marc Bolan rip-off material.
But before these bands were starting to break through, there was a little band in L.A. doing the 70’s thing better than anybody else.
S’Cool Girls (named for an old 70’s way of describing the Glam and Glitter look, according to the band) hit on the old 70’s sound so perfectly that at times you have to question if the material is actually newly recorded. Then when you see pictures of the band you have to start to wonder even more! These guys don’t miss a single trick.
From the music production (guitar sounds, drums, bass, everything) to the backing vocals, the amount of glitter, everything is here. The only area they might fall off the game is in the lyrics. “Hollywood Nights” is a little too “to the point” in its words. I can’t imagine any old 70’s tune being as harsh as it can be.
“Little Boy Blue” though would make any 70’s act jealous and could easily be placed
alongside all of the greats and stands head and shoulders above many of them. This is one of those cases of perfectly capturing the feel, lyrics, sound, and the heart.
“The Groover”, well, everything I just said applies here also. Stomping drums, high vocals in the chorus, it’s all about excess and parties, man.
I’ve got it playing while typing all of this up, and I am still just amazed at how good these guys do it all. “Crazy (About You Being Crazy)” pays a perfect tribute to T-Rex while never being a rip-off.
“Destiny Girl” is a wonderful Glam meeting 50’s Rock/Doo-Wop style creature.
“Glitter Kids” should be the anthem for everybody still hooked on the old style.
“Let’s Go” has the old Bay City Rollers nod in the beginning with the title being spelled out in the chant, but the comparison ends there.
“California Groupie Girls” is another killer tune with a great chorus. Hell, there isn’t a single bad song from this band.
“Put Up Or Shut Up” is all Gary Glitter with attitude and power.
If you want a comparison, think Sweet hanging out with Jet (the old band) with a dash of Bolan. My sister complained that all the new throw-back bands still use the snotty vocals that have come about since Thunders. But in all reality they share a lot with Jet. But for the most part the vocals here are not as “snotty” sounding as some of the bands she was talking about. There is a side to it, but in my opinion this is just a side of Glam that has always been there. The attitude has always existed.
S’Cool Girls are a brilliant throw-back, but there is no novelty to them. As you listen, and you see the pictures, you realize that these guys are all about the stuff. There is no act. In 30 years if you were to run into them, something tells me you will find shag carpet in their houses, satin jackets in their closests, and Pet Rocks still in their boxes with the airholes. God bless the ‘Girls! |
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Sonic Angels - Times Are Changing...
Hailing out of France and bringing the noise comes Sonic Angels, and boy did this album take me by surprise in numerous ways.
The sound is all 60’s Garage Rock mixed with some Trash, but unlike many of the Garage bands, Sonic Angels manages to sound surprisingly “full”. Almost every one has a depth to them you don’t normally associate with the style. It adds a whole different energy to the songs.
Opening tune “My Blues” gets us off in a rush of energy and pretty much explains what the band is all about, though simplistic in nature, the lyrics manage to get the message through easily: the band just wants to rock, don’t expect any “flashy playing”.
“To Be O.K.” has a bit of an early Damned feel to it for me, such as when The Damned would mix in the psychedelia with their Punk. Vocals aren’t Vanian, but musically it’s there.
The vocals are put through one of those “speaker” effects which works well at times, but hurts a bit. During certain choruses that might be incredible hooks, you lose the actual hook due to the “echo”. That same echo effect though is what adds that depth to everything, so who the hell knows man? Maybe just backing off on it at times could do wonders.
There’s a ton of energy going on here, make no mistake about that, both in the playing and the production.
Crap man, this is another “grower”. It sounds so much better to me all of a sudden than the first few times I listened to it. Maybe tonight I am just in a real “music mood”. But as of right now, I am starting to really enjoy this disc. The lyrics wander from the ultra-simplistic style of “My Blues” to more thought provoking styles. In all honesty, out of all of the discs I received for review, this is the only disc where I felt I should talk about the lyrics. There is something about them and the way they work with the music that just took me by surprise, in numerous ways. Hell of a unique, and very good disc. |
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Space Cretins - Rocket Roll
So far these guys win for the best promo pack sent. It’s a fake FBI confidential sheet. Pretty good stuff and gets you off on the right foot as to what the band is all about. In other words, don’t take too much of the stuff serious.
If I was to tell you though that they hailed from Seattle and were produced by Jack Endino (and knew anything about Seattle music history of the past 20 years) you would probably be expecting this CD to be in the “Grunge” style. For those not familiar, Jack had a little band called Skin Yard, and later one called Gruntruck, both of which were of the “Grunge” genre. Jack also produced almost every single band of that style at one point or another, or so it seemed. But the Space Cretins are not Grunge, not even close.
What we have here are 10 songs blasted out at just over 25 minutes. The tunes are straight ahead “Ramonesy” style Punk with enough Glitter and Glamour to fill the rings of Saturn.
Sex, drugs, booze, rocket ships abound in the lyrics department. The lyrics themselves never get too in-depth and pretty much hit on one or two lines and repeat for the duration of the song, with the choruses being one or two lines.
This type of music, while not rocket science, really benefits from solid musicians, and this band carries it. It’s amazing how a simple beat will work so much better with a good drummer behind it, and it’s obvious that our man Danger Dayne Bam Bam knows his kit, as his accents and hits just round out the tunes so perfectly.
Punk, Glam, Rock and Roll, Science Fiction, it all comes to a fine boil in the hands of the Cretins. The band rocks.
I might be going on a mission soon to find out just who exactly Paul Ace Diamond Blow, the main man, is. There is something almost mythical about the man…and I might need to get to the bottom of this. Hell, I think I know who he is…but I don’t want to look like an idiot. |
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The Rumblejetts - Cool Down Baby
O.K., first thing I want to say is that two albums in and these guys are winning for my two of my favorite album covers! The first album, Roostina, was a silly picture that was still somehow sexy, and it wasn’t due to the dang bird...well...not the literal one. The second album here uses a great old pin-up girl pose with a great cross of Tex Avery and Anime. I just love this cover!
But the real thing to talk about here is the music...right?
O.K., as was the case the last time out (you can find my review of their first album on the blog on the Sonic Ruin My Space site) the Rumblejetts play straight-up Rockabilly! As you have read in the earlier reviews in this issue, I am a fan of the stuff, and the ‘Jetts keep that fandom rolling along!
To compare to the other acts in this issue, the “Jetts” are not as flashy as Dawn and her band, and they’re not as “Punk” as Gunsmoke. But actually they are probably more pure in their style and sound than either of those other acts. Tunes like “White Hot” would have made Gene Vincent proud.
“She Pays Me For The Lovin’” reminds me of one of Brian Setzer’s modern Rockabilly styled numbers, especially with its opening hook. Cool ass tune, love the groove on it.
One skipper tune on here for me, and that is the cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl”. The translation to Rockabilly doesn’t really work for me, and I am not so sure anybody could have done it. But the band throws us right back on track with the final two songs after it, “Little More Lovin’” and “One Eyed Drunk”, the latter which is a perfect “tear it up” number!
Probably the only area of The Rumblejetts that lets me down a bit are the vocals. They need a little more “oomph” in their delivery. So often the music is so great, that the vocals come across as a little bored, with the exception of “Rollin’” which delivers a vocal I wish we had more of on the disc. I’m not trying to talk anybody out of this disc though, and it is actually a minor problem I have with it. It’s not bad vocals by any means, as in never out of key. Hell, some people actually might prefer the style as opposed to getting all snotty and “in your face”. I also lay money on it they sound fantastic live and the voice works great there. Oh hell, ignore me. If you like Rockabilly, and Rockabilly played with style, confidence, and honesty, check the damn band out. They deserve your attention. |
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The Valentine Failures - Hearts Halos Hate
Have I told all of you yet that I have figured out that the future of Rock and Roll will be saved by three places? We all know that there is something in the water in Sweden (and that the water has also made it around to the rest of Scandinavia in the past few years) that causes every band playing RnR to be great, but lately the amount of great bands falling out of Canada has also been ridiculous. The third place, though not a country (yet larger than Sweden) would be Texas, and even more specifically Austin.
If anybody questions the greatness within the Austin scene, you need look no further than The Urgencies and The Riverboat Gamblers. If you are still questioning my opinion, then I recommend you grab yourself the debut E.P. from The Valentine Failures. Hell, I am telling you to buy the damn thing no matter what. This is one of those releases that any self-respecting Rock and Roll fan needs.
Upon first listen you get the idea that these guys love D Generation. Musically and especially vocally there is no doubt of an influence. But as the disc spins on you start to lose that comparison. The music doesn’t change direction, and it sure doesn’t change in sound, but you start to find that these guys are good…real good, and a comparison is not doing them any justice, nor yourself. But if you want it, I will say it, this is the band I always wished D Generation would be. All five of these songs are blistering in every single aspect of their delivery.
The album opens with “Dead To You”. A tom and snare beat start, then the guitar joins in on high notes, and it instantly all starts to catch your ears. Vocals fall in and we get the first taste of that D Generation comparison, but it fades as soon as the second voice joins in on the verse. The song just moves so damn perfect. Those backing vocals work in through out every verse, and they just add so much. Vocalist Justin also carries a scream that Jesse Malin never quite had.
With such a promising opening song I was expecting the disc to start to go downhill from there.
“Friday Night” proves that this is a band to definitely keep an eye on, and promises a hell of a future. With a verse that works fine, but falls into a chorus that just tears it all apart.
By the time we get to the third song “Dark Stars” you start to realize that you have yourself one hell of a great band playing in your stereo. The beginning, with the “1-2-3-4” and the music behind it is so perfect, then the verse, the chorus, the little accents (“The clock is ticking down”), this is a band that works on their songs dammit.
Song 4 scared me. The song is “Anything, Anything”, originally written and performed to perfection by Dramarama. It’s their signature song, and it’s also one of the greatest tunes ever written. You have to have balls to take on a song such as this, as it’s damn easy to fail. Well, the Failures ain’t failures. They keep the energy of the original, they keep the song the same in almost every aspect, but they still manage to make it fit their own sound. If you weren’t familiar with the original, you would not think for a second this wasn’t one of their songs.
Final song “Flatline Heartbeat” is a perfect closing tune.
I’ll try and explain what works so well here. The songs flow in a great way, and the energy is top notch. The vocals are intense and full of attitude. Hell, listen to “Anything, Anything” and the “Wondering what the fuck I did to you” and the “Anything you want bitch”. These are the moments that match almost to the brilliance that David Roach reached in Junkyard with his “Goddamn” in “Hands Off”. The guitars are the perfect backdrop for all of the enhancements, such as those vocals. But then there is the drumming, the drumming steps it up all over the place. Little splashes and cowbell hits, quick fills, perfect adds to help add the flavor. It’s all so damn well done.
As the disc plays out it hits you that you might just be hearing one of those albums that people will remember for a long time. The scary thing about this release though is that these guys just set the bar very, very, very high for future releases. I look forward to hearing them leap those bars. |
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Trashcan Darlings - Getting Away With Murder
Hailing from Norway, and sporting a vocalist with a form of “corpse paint” can lead some people into believing the wrong thing about Trashcan Darlings. My buddy, who is into extreme Metal, walked over to my desk and saw the cover of Getting Away With Murder and was quite confused.
But then when you listen to the music, the image actually starts to work. There is a bunch of stuff going on within these songs, violent, dark, sexy, sleazy, funny, manic, you name it, it’s here.
The album opens with “Violent Years” which lives up to it’s name with a good raw feel to it, and an almost street punk attitude.
Next tune up is truly one of the great songs of the year, and of the entire Glam genre, “Rocket Madonna”. The whole damn song is a hook, from the beginning guitar riff to the vocals in the verses, to the chorus.
From there the album moves into “Play Station”, which is not exactly about the video game system, but keeps the pace moving and the hooks cruising along and carries a hell of a hook for itself.
The band wanders numerous genres, from the killer Glam of “Rocket Madonna” and “Play Station” to the blazing street punk style of the opener, then whirling on over to the UK Punk sound of the 80’s with tunes like “Back To The Parti” and then the Ramonesy, Pop Punk tinged “Me Punk, You Fuck”.
Then they go and throw you a loop like “Please Darling Please” that sounds like nothing else before it, or after it and carries a chorus so damn haunting that it fits in the world of Goth...almost. I’m guessing that this vocal is the person listed in the credits named “Turid Trad”, and if so, job well done!
Look, basically this is a full on Rock and Roll disc using a ton of influences and making them all stick. The production at first threw me for a loop, and it does almost everytime I put this thing on, as the guitars are a little thin sounding (at first I attributed it to Chris Doll playing what appears to be a Gibson ES, which would cause a bit of the lighter sound due to the hollow body, but upon further review he is playing a Lucille, which is actually a big solid monster. But then guitarist Frankie Nachtnebel plays a Gretsch White Falcon, and those should be thin sounding...how the hell do these guys afford these guitars by the way???), but by song two the production has worked itself in and you are all set for the tunes. The beginning to “Rocket Madonna” actually helps in this transition in your head, by the way.
Credit due on song 11, by the way, for what sounds like a stand-up bass, and the whole song actually has a nice 50’s feel to it. Hell, I just realized how much of an older 50’s feel there is to a bunch of this disc. Not sure why, but it’s there. Again though, we have Turid’s backing voice. Who the hell is this person???
Ya know, the disc keeps growing on me. I love the energy in these songs, I love the writing, and I really have grown very fond of Strange? Gentle’s voice.
The tunes are quality, the production is thin, but works, and the packaging is top notch. It’s one hell of a release.
If this review doesn’t make you think you need this disc, stay tuned for the next issue of Sonic where I will do my damndest to convince you. |
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Voodoo Moonshine - Decade of Decay
Voodoo Moonshine is the type of band almost all musicians would love to play in, regardless of the style you think you like to play. Musicianship on the guitar side is high, but not so high that you need to be Andres Segovia to play. But the playing is also flashy enough to appease most musicians out there and to be damn fun to play and to hear played. The drumming is solid with glimpses of flash here and there. Vocally we are not talking “over the top” vocal acrobatics, but we are talking a voice that lets you know the guy can handle a tune with no problems. Bass-wise it’s what a bass needs to be, and the fact that he works with the guitars and drums tells you what you really need to know, the job is solid but still defining.
Musically Voodoo plays big guitar Rock. They wander from Southern styled to a Skid Row style. The sound is really an early 90’s sound, that whole Blues/Southern thing many of the Hairbands went to doing (think Jake E. Lee loving these guys), but in all reality it’s pretty damn timeless. At times you can hear traces of Humble Pie within the band. So think an early 90’s Rock band with some influences of “Classic Rock” (ya know…the stuff in the 70’s) and “Southern Rock” (ya know…what most Rock bands of the 70’s were…so…yeah…Classic Rock…).
Now then, I hate ballads. This is not to say I hate slow songs, I just hate what is designated as “ballads”. “Ballads” only appear in Rock. No other style of music has a “ballad”, and (in my opinion) this is because within Rock it’s a novelty. Other bands write slow songs because they need to, it’s how they really feel. Within Rock it’s done because the bands need a hit record and they know they will never get one with their standard material. This is all opinion and theory, don’t kill me for it. But oddly enough, the songs on this release that I might enjoy most are the ones that many would call “Ballads”.
Kicking off with “It’s About Time” (or “It’s About Fucking Time” to go by what they really say on the chorus) we know pretty quick the band is about Rock. Its got a pretty cool riff going on. While song 2 reminds me of Humble Pie.
Song 3, “The One That Got Away”, is one of the ballads I was talking about. The vocal melody is amazing on this song. I seriously keep playing this one song over and over again, solely due to these vocals.
“Locked And Loaded”, and “One More Reason” are the Skid Row styled things on the disc, while “Piece Of Mind” is modern Lynyrd Skynyrd.
All in all, this is a hell of a solid release by a band that is able to mix different eras of music together and create something that feels fresh and makes you want to turn up the stereo, roll the windows down, and just rock. |
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Willie Phoenix - Blues Reaction
Willie Phoenix - Quick ‘n’ Dirty
Here is one of those cases where I am really, really, really happy I started this little ‘zine! Willie here is easily one of the greatest artists I have run across in years!
Starting off with Willie’s Blues Reaction we are treated to his style of the Blues, and the first song (which starts with some rain) is a beautiful bit of Delta Blues, with that ol’ Gospel feel that you could only get in the Delta world) that ends with just a teaser of bottleneck.
From there we move onto more of a standard Blues feel, but Willie never stands too long on a standard Blues, and moves into areas as with “The Sun” which harken back to a 60’s style with the Blues influence. It’s almost as if this Bluesman was influenced by everything that has ever used the Blues, and he takes everything on. The chorus for “The Sun” is worth your price on the CD alone.
Bo Diddly, Hendrix, Mississippi Fred, Son House, Buddy Guy, you name it, Willie touches on them. The album ends with what it promised in the beginning, two tips to the old Delta masters (“Delta Bones” and “Robert Johnson”), and Willie shows himself to being a fine bottleneck user, and makes one hope for more of the style from him eventually.
Blues Reaction is just what its name implies, this is Willie’s result of being raised on the Blues. It’s a perfect introduction to him as it is a full rounded Blues release, but touches on numerous styles of the Blues, and easily moves you into his follow-up CD.
On Quick ‘n’ Dirty Willie continues on with the Blues, but also starts to infuse more of an R&B flavor. Though I believe the two albums were recorded around the same time, Quick features a much more polished production. The drums crack more, the guitars are smoother sounding and Willie’s voice, at times scratchy, are so clear it sounds like he is sitting right next to you singing at times.
The disc starts out with a joke on a live performance proving to not be live, and even that one little joke intro is a wonderful little tune.
From there on out, for the most part, this is great feel good music. It’s all about groove this time out. I could sit here and start listing the songs that get your feet tapping, but to be honest, they all do. When I sit here right now listening to the damn thing, and it goes to “A Kiss For My Lips” I smile, and look forward to the chorus. Then the disc mellows out with “Dream”, but it’s got that wonderful Otis/Sam Cooke feel to it, and it doesn’t feel like slowing down, just shifting gears, as it still kicks in and carries a hook most would kill for.
But then we move into the back to back power of two flat out incredible songs: “Midnight Radio” and “Nobody’s Gonna Crush Our Love”. I dare you to not smile when these come on. Heck, my daughter loves these two songs almost as much as anything on the Sam Cooke albums she treasures! Hey, ya gotta raise ‘em right.
The disc comes to a close with the wonderful “Darkside Of The Day” which is a slightly haunting grooving tune that manages to wrap everything from before it perfectly.
I love Willie Phoenix in so many ways. Music like this is a bit of a rarity now days, and even more so a rarity to have it this good. I can’t recommend Willie enough, and I seriously hope that everybody who reads this review will take the time to spend a few minutes at his site checking out the material he has up there. His My Space site seems to be
out-take type of stuff. But at www.cdbaby.com you will find enough sound clips to sell you on him. That was where I first fell in love. |
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| As I mentioned in the editorial section I lost my butt on this thing the last issue out. There were many contributing factors to this, and none of them am I complaining about, as I knew it would happen and actually planned for it. But part of the area that I lost out on it with was the sending out of review copies and trades with other ‘zines. Not every I contacted returned my emails, and not every one I sent to sent me one of theirs back. Here are quick bits about those fine folks who did get back to me. |
Bubblegum Slut: The star of all stars! Alison is a gem, and her ‘zine is one to be reckoned with and one to be respected. Every issue is jam packed with goodies, and a fuzzy heart on the cover!
www.bubblegumslut.co.uk |
Trash Pit: I have no idea how Rob does this thing for the price he sells it for. The quality is cover to cover on its glossy black and white pages. Probably the best looking ‘zine on the market, and it’s got quality stuff in the words also! I went out and bought a CD on their word, the day I read the review!
www.trashpit.co.uk |
Unbelievably Bad: Regular magazine sized, full of humor, and friggin’ huge in page number! This is a wonderful ‘zine with one hell of a sense of humor! I don’t agree that all of the bands in the ‘zine are “bad”, but hey, what the hell!
www.myspace.com/unbelievablybad |
Veglam Webzine: One of the truly great websites out there. Laurent is a hell of a guy, and he knows his shit. Read his site, and be a part of the cool kids.
www.veglam.com |
Sleazegrinder: You can’t claim to be up on Rock and Roll if you never check out Sleaze.
Great writers, great info, all around one of the most important sites on the ‘net for quality tunes!
www.sleazegrinder.com |
Glitzine: My home. I’ve done work for them, Spice is one of the wonders of life, and the board is the best. Need to get in touch with me, go there and you will find me.
www.glitzine.net |
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