SV & The Eruptions – ‘Knackers Yard’ (Avenue Recordz)

SV & The Eruptions – ‘Knackers Yard’ (Avenue Recordz)

Initially formed back around 2011/12 as a vehicle for Dirt Box Disco guitarist and songwriting supremo Spunk Volcano to air the tunes he’d written that didn’t really fit with the day job (although some might argue some actually do fit – especially after Weab made off to pastures new) I now find myself in possession of Eruptions’ album number SIX, and I’m left thinking, where did the time go eh?

That’s because this time around we’re all going down the ‘Knackers Yard’ as the band prepares to take a well-deserved break after their decade long burst of creativity and insanity. That’s right, it’s a break, they’re not splitting up, just pressing pause on the ‘TV God’ remote control whilst Spunk and Maff concentrate on the next Dirt Box Disco record, Joey goes off to work with MeMe Detroit and Scott “allegedly” goes back to being a full-time serial killer and Faxe drinker. It’s certainly been a prolific (and most excellent) run of releases to date though (let’s not forget the 5 EPs the band also released during this time too) with many stone-cold Eruptions classics written along the way. The bazillion dollar question I guess your wondering though, is does ‘Knackers Yard’ provide the fitting finale (for now)?

Well, the immediate thing that hits me about ‘Knackers Yard’ is that after the more melodic leaning ‘Barry Milner Is Thick’ album from 2020 this time around a large proportion of the tunes once again lean more towards the darker/heavier side of Mr Volcano’s songwriting portfolio and there are a few tunes on here that could have easily been part of the hard as nails ‘Double Bastard’ album, with opener ‘I Am A Capsule’ complete with its UK82 guitar riff and “Fuck Off Leave Me Alone” gang vocal as good a place to start as any. Likewise, ‘Madhouse’ (or should that be “Fooking Madhouse”?) which whilst not being a cover of a certain tune by a legendary NYC thrash band, could very easily have come out of that scene, complete with a monster chugger of a riff and mid-section that flies off in all directions and is held together by a potty mouthed Spunk chorus that somehow also manages to twist and turn its way into a super catchy second chorus too. Genius stuff!

And therein lies the real appeal of Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions for me though, because whilst ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ and the sublime ‘My Tears Get Washed Away’ (which somehow manages to make me think of both Wolfsbane and Showaddywaddy in the same 3 minutes run time) are the type of “sing your heads off” top-quality tunes that Spunk has become renowned for penning at a truly alarming rate. It’s the polar opposites of the vicious ‘Manky Man’ and the sombre ‘Dead And The Mirror’ (yes that’s keyboards you can hear) with its almost murder-ballad feel where The Eruptions truly stand apart from Dirt Box Disco.  Likewise clock the the flawed brilliance of ‘Mordrake’ (which you have to hear to fully understand what I’m on about) and then try and second guess what is up next? How about the kick in the coin purse that is ‘Pit Bull Facelift’, a song GBH would have been proud of writing back in their early Clay Records days.

With ‘Knackers Yard’ Spunk Volcano takes the life experiences and the heart and soul that a decade of songwriting and touring offers a band and once again turns them into a dozen tracks that pack a punch so fierce, they will shock you to the core, and is that a little tear I feel welling in my eye as the forementioned ‘Dead And The Mirror’ segues into the CD only final track ‘Shit Stirrers & Scaremongers’?

With five final live shows booked running through June to September, which also see The Eruptions back to being a 5-piece once again as Tom returns on guitar, it’s no time to be down in the mouth, as its time to party and get yourself down the ‘Knackers Yard’ when it’s released via the band’s own Avenue Recordz label on CD only (no vinyl this time) on July 1st.  You can also pre-order your copy right now, along with a rather wonderful-looking limited-edition T-shirt from the link below.

There’s only one way to give SV & The Eruptions a proper send-off, and that’s by booking your trip to the ‘Knackers Yard’. We’re all going, are you???

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Author: Johnny Hayward

Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders – ‘Blues, Soul & Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Beluga Records/Ghost Highway Recordings and KOTJ)

Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders – ‘Blues, Soul & Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Beluga Records/Ghost Highway Recordings and KOTJ)

Woohoo! Rooting tootin Rockin and a Rolling. Pat Todd & His band of merry men get their jig on as they cough up a ‘Rooster Blues’ rock and roll extravaganza as they honk the harmonica along with some sleazy garage rock n roll. Proceedings get underway with a howling ‘Rooster Blues’. Todd then goes down to the crossroads and cuts the deal with the Devil for some of those cool tunes and gets the smoldering ‘I’m A Cool Teenager’ whilst the mirrorball casts light the band gets the slow dance underway.

‘No Good Lover’ will have you chicken dancing like a prime time Lux Interior as the band cut up the floor with a smashing tune. ‘Promised Land’ is the jewel in the Rockin crown as the band kicks out the jams and Todd is on whip-cracking form. It’s a howling good time being had in the bestust Chuck Berry way it’s like hearing prime time Georgia Satellites.

If there is anything to complain about it would have to be this is way too brief with only six tracks blowing up your stereo. ‘Blues Soul & Rock and Roll’ is a banger short, sharp & oh so sweet. You know the drill by now Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders deliver top-notch Rock n Roll and this is the proof. Blues Soul Rock and Roll does exactly what it says on the Tin! Buy It!

Buy Here / Ghost Highway Website Here

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Author: Dom Daley

Steve Vincent – ‘All He Wants To Do Is Recover From His Past on Paradise Alley’

Steve Vincent – ‘All He Wants To Do Is Recover From His Past on Paradise Alley’

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Steve kept himself busy during lockdowns writing and planning, not one but two releases. Calling a few favours from some very talented musicians he’s managed to put together an EP under the Paradise Alley banner and release a solo album.

For over thirty years now Steve Vincent has been no stranger to the underground rock’n’roll scene, First as a member of Glasgow Glamsters Indian Angel before decamping to London where after a brief tenure fronting Scarlet Tears, Steve put together his own band, Paradise Alley. After two albums, multiple tours all over the planet flirting with both success and disaster, a brief name change to Neon Bomb and then a return to the scene in 2019 with the ‘Class Of 92’ single, Vincent finally decided to dip his toe in the solo water.

What started as demo sessions for songs to submit to Paradise Alley soon morphed into a full-blown album’s worth of music. Nine songs were written solely by Steve with a tenth co-written with longtime friend Miqu December from Plastic Tears, these ten songs come together on the debut solo album Recovered From My Past due on Bombshell Records in August 2022.

Influenced by classic rock’n’roll from Little Richard to The Sweet, The New York Dolls to Lords Of The New Church, The Chesterfield Kings to The Ramones, the album covers all bases.

While Steve provides vocals, harmonica, guitars, bass and drum programming on the album, he is joined by an enviable guest list of musicians with Andy Christie (Swamp Born Assassins) (guitars) heading things up on several songs with the other lead guitars being provided by Steve Conte (New York Dolls/Michael Monroe), Mattias Johannson (Trench Dogs), Alex Holmes (Suicide Notes), Ben Marsden (The Spangles/Main Grains) and Rhoades D’ablo (Los Swamp Monsters) alongside Danny McCormack (The Wildhearts) on bass, Matt Connor (keyboards) and Miqu December (Plastic Tears) on guest vocals.

Steve also handled engineering and production duties on the album with assistance from long-time associate Wan Hewitt on mixing and mastering. A live band has been assembled too and is now ready to take the songs from Recovered From My Past to stages the world over with UK dates starting in August 2022. The album and the lead single “All I Wanna Do” are available to pre-order now on Bandcamp.

But while writing and recording what has become his debut solo album, Steve started work on four brand new songs for Paradise Alley and the end result is the new EP, ‘Bad Timing & Silver Linings’, available to pre-order now on Bandcamp. Live dates are booked for a 30th Anniversary Tour alongside Plastic Tears and 2022 is looking brighter than ever for the best-kept secret in rock’n’roll.

Sat 27 Aug – Sheffield, HRH Sleaze

Thu 1 Sep – Newcastle, Trillians

Fri 2 Sep – Edinburgh, Bannermans

Sat 3 Sep – TBC

Sun 4 Sep – Blackpool, Waterloo

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Pre-order Here / Paradise Alley EP Pre Order Here

For booking/media inquiries contact: info@stevevincent.co.uk

Pic credit- Andy Guttercat

Starcrawler – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge – 29th May 2022

Starcrawler – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge – 29th May 2022

Taking a break from opening stadiums for My Chemical Romance, L.A. shock rockers Starcrawler take a visit to the sleepy Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge for one of only 2 UK headline shows. The intimate Trades Club is the venue and its not even sold out, probably due to the fact that Aussie punks Amyl & the Sniffers are playing down the road in Leeds, taking away some potential punters.

It is busy though, and from the first howl that Arrow De Wilde yells during opener ‘Goodtime Girl’ and the ensuing goosebumps, I can tell it’s going to be a killer show. I knew Starcrawler were going to be good, but not this good. With just white satin trousers and a bikini top covering her sleight frame, Arrow struts the stage pulling all the cool rock star moves, she screams like a banshee and you can’t take your eyes off her. With a dark stage and good backlighting, she looks almost ethereal with her long blonde hair, teased higher and better than any 80’s glam band you care to mention. Imagine Patti Smith meets Michael Monroe and you’re getting close.

Live, Starcrawler are definitely the Arrow & Henri show. The livewire guitar player does not stand still and spends the majority of the one-hour set wringing seven shades of shit out of his guitar. He wrestles with the instrument like it is a weapon, like he is fighting for every note, when in reality that is far from the truth.

It doesn’t all run smoothly though. At one point he loses his guitar strap mid-song, causing a Stevie Ray Vaughn style strap change, while not dropping a note[or the guitar], very slick. The guitar player halts the show during a storming version of the Ramones ‘Pet Semetary’, when he thinks he spots some aggro in the animated and rowdy crowd. Turns out to be a false alarm and the onstage chaos and disorder resumes.

New single ‘Roadkill’ sounds fantastic, ‘I Love LA’ is a given and the country-tinged Jackass theme ‘If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough’ transcends into punk rock chaos of the highest degree, the crowd lap it up.

The Pretenders-like single ‘No More Pennies’ is a cool respite from the Stooges-like raw, punk power that has the crowd excited, but material like closer ‘Beat My Brain’, with its sonically overdriven guitar lick is where this band truly shine.

Encore ‘Chicken Woman’ is a filthy wall of Sabbath-inspired grunge that culminates with the singer jumping into the crowd for a pogo before disappearing for good. Meanwhile, her guitar-wielding cohort has coaxed a female fan onto the stage and strapped his guitar on to the bewildered girl, leaving her to strum out unknown chords to a wall of feedback, as the guitarist casually walks offstage for the final time. A brilliant climax to a short but sweet set.

Starcrawler have been wowing the My Chemical Romance fans and it is easy to see why. They have the looks, the energy and the stagecraft. They also have some bloody good tunes under their studded belts. I’d heard they were good live, but I must say I was more than impressed tonight. With 2 great albums already, an imminent 3 and a formidable live reputation, the future looks great for Starcrawler. They may not play such intimate venues on their next visit, but you must see them.

Author: Ben Hughes

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