Tickets for their UK May Tour are selling nicely, a reminder that you can get tickets from the Ruts DC directly with no added booking fees HERE
‘CounterCulture?’ has now been Re-pressed on Translucent Red Vinyl exclusively for the shops across the UK & Europe – going on sale from April 21st 2023.
To celebrate they have 100 advance copies of the beautiful NEW Translucent Red Pressing, in stock and available on their shop HERE
The Lovely Eggs have always been a band to do their own thing, fiercely independent, they’ve created their own eggy world in Eggland and have now gone one stage further and have created their own TV series!
See below from The Lovely Eggs.
“EGGS TV sucks you spiralling down the plughole into our distinctly alternative and off the wall universe featuring the likes of Ian Mackaye, Stewart Lee, David Shrigley, Gruff Rhys, Gwenifer Raymond, John Grant, Katie Puckrik, John Cooper Clarke and more. There’s live performances, spoken word, art, animation. Just a whole load of stuff we are into. We thought most mainstream telly is shit these days so we decided to create something different. It’s an art/experimental television channel. We’re releasing the first episode at Easter, April 6 at 11am.”
Never afraid to experiment, unfurl the flags and set sail into unknown territory, independent DIY psych punk duo The Lovely Eggs have done it again. This time they’ve made their own TV show: EGGS TV.
Teaming up with artist Casey Raymond, Eggs TV embarks on a televisual odyssey, shining a light on alternative and underground art, music and British subculture, sucking you spiralling down the plughole into The Lovely Eggs’ distinctly odd and off the wall universe.
Gruff Rhys stuck up a mountain, Stewart Lee’s tour of comedian graves, John Grant’s fridge magnet collection, David Shrigley’s ‘Stuff’, odd smells emanating from Katie Puckrik, Ian MacKaye waxing lyrical about a life in punk rock, Tim Presley, Cate Le Bon, Gwennifer Raymond, John Cooper Clarke, The Space Lady, Andy Votel, strange films from the minds of Quentin Smirhes, Bedwyr Williams and Michael Cummings, animation, music, poetry, bagpipes for the eyes and much much more…
Sick of the pap offered by mainstream television, Eggs TV is an art/experimental TV channel featuring live performances, spoken word, art and animation.
“It’s the type of show that used to exist in the deepest darkest corners of alternative TV programming, and EGGS TV is here to bring it back,” said Holly.
“We’ve known Casey since we worked together on a music video over 10 years ago and became pals. The idea of making a TV series together seemed like an absolutely brilliant and ridiculous thing to do, so we just cracked on with it.”
The remaining 5 episodes will be released weekly via Youtube.
The fiercely independent Celtic punk collective Ferocious Dog mesh traditional instruments such as fiddle, banjo and mandolin with distorted guitars, punk, ska and folky goodness. They mix politics and music well and have a fiery live reputation that makes them regulars on the festival circuit.
Although the Nottingham based 6 piece have been around since the late 80’s, their debut album was not released until 2013. A debut album born out of tragedy after Lee, the son of singer Ken Bonsall, tragically took his own life in 2012 at just 24 years of age.
With main man Ken having a working class, miners upbringing and taking influence from political artists such as Billy Bragg, New Model Army, and the Levellers, it’s no surprise that the band is a platform to tackle and raise awareness to social issues from history and spread the message of justice and solidarity.
This remastered version of their debut album comes packaged with a second disc recorded live at Leeds O2 Academy last year, with the addition of a 6-piece orchestra.
Ferocious Dog have a habit of leading you into a false sense of security with a mournful fiddle introduction, a wistfully picked mandolin, or a strummed acoustic chord progression before they take things up several notches. For there is as much power in their music as there is in the lyrics. This debut album doesn’t leave much room for balladry, the emphasis is on passion, anger and the themes of liberty and justice for all.
Opener ‘The Glass’ documents Lee Bonsall’s last day on earth, yet musically is an upbeat and euphoric blast of Celtic punk. It rides on a cool banjo riff to an urgent rhythmic backing and is as anthemic as anything I have heard in recent years, a perfect album opener and a perfect introduction to Ferocious Dog.
Yes, the Levellers comparisons are justified, but there is a bit more to Ferocious Dog than that. There are raucous upbeat drinking songs such as the instrumental ‘Lee’s Tune’ and the classic fan favourite ‘Hell Hounds’ that are fantastic examples, but elsewhere, there are dub vibes on the likes of ‘Freeborn John’ and heavy ska influences in the excellent ‘Pocket Of Madness’. There is also traditional folk, ‘Paddy On The Railways’ is as close to the Pogues you can get without having a whiskey with Shane McGowan.
Mixed and mastered superbly by Al Scott, who brings out the best in the songs especially the vocal department, ‘Ferocious Dog’ is as fresh and vibrant as the day it was released and lyrically it probably means even more in these trying times.
If you are already a fan or have even just caught Ferocious Dog live in the past 10 years, then the real gem of this release lies in the bonus disc, a full gig recorded at the O2 Academy in Leeds last year with a 6-piece string section. A full set of their songs reimagined with a different, orchestral soundscape.
Opener ‘Landscape Artist’ lets the listener know that this is not to be a laid-back affair. The mass of strings weave their magic over the melodies and Ken’s raw, but perfectly delivered vocals.
Stripped of electric guitars, the folk inspired ditties lose none of their power, in fact as with other orchestral rock albums of the past (Metallica for example) it adds a cinematic depth which can be just as powerful as a bank of Marshall stacks.
The strings amplify the emotion in the beauty. The likes of ‘A&B’ and ‘Justice For 96’ benefit immensely and the euphoria created in ‘Broken Soldiers’ will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention.
Ken Bonsall’s loveable charm as a frontman comes across well, and his ability to engage with his audience is second to none, even teasing the local crowd to a ”Yorkshire, Yorkshire!” chant.
The addition of a new studio recording of ‘Too Late’ is tagged on at the end for good measure.
If you are a longtime Hell Hound or a curious Furious Dog virgin, there is much to enjoy in this 10th anniversary edition. A debut album that is as urgent and vital as the day it was released, backed with a document of a magical evening in Leeds that may make you check out why this band have a great live reputation.
Author: Ben Hughes
Although The Courettes planned to have a much quieter 2023 while they work on the follow up to 2021’s sensational ‘Back In Mono’ LP, it’s almost impossible for this incendiary garage rock duo to resist the lure of the stage and the band have been working harder than ever. Fresh from kicking up a storm at SXSW, The Courettes are currently touring Europe and are set to arrive in the UK early next month for a string of live shows that will not disappoint!
Buy Tickets Here
The Balladmongrels is a raucous new band featuring Dogs D’Amour frontman Tyla J. Pallas and Northern Irish singer-songwriter Matty James Cassidy. Their glorious mix of raw guitars, dark romantic lyrics, beautiful melodies and rousing choruses will implant themselves in your brain, heart and soul and never let go.
Shiver me timbers boy n girls for here before me is a pair of Rock n Roll lifers who’ve tumbled into view with an album full of ragged, beautiful, melodic, timeless Rock n Roll tunes. The idea began under lockdown when the pair were set to release a single with a tune from each on either side of a 7″ but after one or two light refreshments it unfurled into a much bigger project where they would co write a whole albums worth of songs and see what forms and hey presto as if by magic (or Guinness) this bastard plopped out and what an inspired decision that was. An explosion of inspiration and the give and take from a true collaboration later and ‘Trouble’ is born.
Think Tyla’s Balladeering and then that gentle acoustic lilt gets fuel injected and given a sharp shot of energy then you might be in the right ballpark. Its not rocket science we’re dealing with here its rock n bloody Roll and top notch Rock n Roll I might add.
Right enough waffle, Here goes. Opening with ‘Ballad Of The Knucklemen’ its a rambunctious swaggering slice of Rock n Roll where Matty kicks off the lyrics then he’s joined by the familiar rasp of Tyla J Pallas and this beast is shifting through the verses and chorus with a swagger and joir de vivre. The guitars are red raw and the song is a blast and to be fair the red herring is Balladmongrels being that this record bloody well rocks and the preconceived misconception of it being one of Tylas balladlike records couldn’t be further from the mark this is a great big pair of swinging bollocks, sure it has light and shade but the bass thump of ‘Chambers’ before that swirling organ tells me that this record is gonna please a lot of people. what a tune my friends – if this was an offering from Keif and Mick people would be soiling their strides its that good. What a bobby dazzler this is and that distorted gob iron is sublime.
This is the sound of a couple of very talented songwriters being inspired by each other and feeding of that like a pair of frenzied piranhas. ‘Trouble’ is a song of boundless energy, It’s timeless but boy does it sound fresh and put a smile on my boat race.
We move seamlessly from the slashing raw guitars of ‘Trouble’ to the big chord swagger of ‘How The Beautiful Fall’ where the pair sing back and fore to each other and the listener gets carried away on one of those soft songs for hard men that Tyla is well known for. You want drinking songs? of course they are here. ‘Swingin’ Jack’ is another barroom song full of staggering and swaying chords but its got an air of sing-a-long one you’ll happily participate in. The duelling guitars on ‘Highwayman Blues’ are fantastic as they entwine two very different styles from the choppy ragged riff and the sound of a white falcon in full flight is majestic and really hits the sweet spot in my ears.
There is time for a breather as the epic ‘Warship’ sails into view and unfurls its pirate flag for a blistering five plus minutes of twisting and turning rock n roll. The middle eight where the drums shuffle you off into battle with a swirling keyboard before the guitars fire off is majestic.
If you’re looking for some fire then ‘Evil Under The Moon’ will be your jam. Thunderous, aggressive, and barking like a dog – what a rush! Catch your breath during ‘Long Ships’ and smile that you have had the pleasure of indulging in such a good record. But save some because you’ll need if for the final track as you stand on the table and raise your glass to the Balladmongrels and toast the ‘Good Ole’ Daze’. I have the pleasure of hearing some pretty spectacular albums before they hit the streets and 2023 has thus far delivered some special albums from many corners of the musical world and a heap of genres and I can confidently say that none thus far have gone down as well as this bundle of ‘Trouble’. I hope that there is plenty in the tank of this writing partnership and we can sail many journeys yet with the Balladmongrels for this is formidable and above all exceptional songs. cheers you buggers!
Not that I have a complaint about this record but if I did it would be there are only ten songs on it. Get this band on the road I need to see and hear these songs live in some sweaty bar.
Buy Here
Author: Dom Daley
We go back to the early days of Lucifer Star Machine, when they were part of the burgeoning London underground, kicking up a shit storm with some uncompromising punk rock n roll that had a fuck you attitude and wouldn’t compromise for anyone. Then frontman Tor moved base to Germany and tweaked a few things here and there and got a lineup that was all on board with the direction of travel LSM was heading in and kaboom! things were on the up. Lucifer Star Machine, the infernal Action Punx still take no prisoners but somewhat softened the rough edges making them more accessible to a wider audience to be fair put more effort into the songs they were playing whilst still uncompromising and still doing it their way the songs sounded much better – stronger and longer lasting. They were no longer burning the ground up behind them they were delivering the goods but taking people with them the scorched earth policy was more engaging and wider reaching and has led the band to ‘Satanic Age’ head and shoulders their best collection of songs to date.
This their fifth full-length album, the band have always been an uncompromising band of brothers cut from the same cloth as your Motorheads or your Hip Priests but what they have done over the years is evolve their sound and Tor has seen the worth of not churning out the same record every few years and introduced more melody for an all-round set of catchier Punk’n’Roll but still with a heap of fuck you attitude.
This bad boy is offering up thirteen tunes spinning on their middle finger digit and boy I think it might just be their finest hour.
As well as the harder edge influences you have the melody of the Misfits and Ramones. It’s down n dirty, reckless and a lot of fun. From the haunting opening spoken words it’s the no nonsense of ‘Satanic Age’ Imagine The Misfits covering Turbonegro using Motorheads gear and you’re in the fun zone right there.
“Satanic Age” was produced by guitarist Mickey Necro and frontman Tor Abyss, who have written the album during the downtime of the pandemic and nailed exactly how this should go down giving every instrument enough room to breathe and ferment. It also has the unmistakable sound of guest vocalist Marc “Sparky” Phillips of Demented Are Go and Kit Swing of London outfit Seven Days And Doesn’t Die.
Sparky guests on a runaway train of a track with a massive rolling riff scuffing along like prime-time Marilyn Manson if he rode a dirt bike and not a limo. The punk is turned up for the ferocious potty-mouthed ‘Cunt Of Destruction’ but hold onto your trousers because the circle pit is getting bigger and faster for ‘Black Axe’ and Tor and the boys aren’t taking prisoners.
I pause for a breath then they pick me up with the boogie of ‘I Wanted Everything’. The lyrics are standard and on tunes like ‘Censorshipped’ you know they aren’t taking any prisoners not that bands like Lucifer Star Machine give a flying fuck you might want to wear headphones around your nan.
Fingers are flying on ‘Purgatory Souls’ as the Machine sets the fretboards on fire and dashes to the finish line with one of their most brutal sprints ever. this album is uncompromising and delivering on everything you want in this messed up crazy world we live in this is the soundtrack as everything around us burns.
As we head into the home straight the devil horns are raised for the hard-rocking ‘Hard Luck Mary’ where Kit Swing adds some light to the shade or is it adds more shade to the darkness. Whichever way it is this is some mighty fine hard rock. I love the filthy bass line on ‘Live Another Day’ as it swirls into action gargling away as the song is ripped open and that circle pit-inducing tempo bleeds out of the speakers.
There is no doubt that this is the finest album thus far from Lucifer Star Machine, they have effortlessly moved through the gears over the years to this point and have carved out their niche and turned in an epic set of tunes that showcases the finest side of this punk n roll action rock or whatever you want to call it these days. If you pass over this record then I can’t help you this is a must-own slab of wax that will burrow into my head as all fine earworms do. If this is the satanic age then Hell yeah I’m all in – Hail Lucifer Star Machine they fuckin’ Rock!
Buy Here
Author: DomDaley
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Limited to 1000 copies and released in May ‘Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed’ is a wholly independent release for one of the finest underground Punk Rock Garage bands ever to grace the earth. Not many other punk rock band, that never was part of the mainstream, left such a footmark like Turbonegro did. Bars in Mexico and Spain are named after the band. The Turbojugend, the fan club of the band, is only comparable with the fan clubs of old rock giants such as Motorhead or Kiss with as many hipsters wanting the levi denim with their name on it as genuine lovers of the band and boy are the Turbojugend a loyal lot.
There have been many tribute records made so why not another one from a bunch of bands many of us are familiar with and some new ones no doubt? In the very best DIY manner, this album is not released by a label and will be distributed by the bands only. The drawings of Hank and Tony on the sleeve have been made by Warren Mancini, a tattoo artist from the USA. The layout has been created by Javier Villalpando. Javier already created the TUR30NEGRO lettering for the band’s 30th anniversary in 2019. So who and what’s on it?
Familiar to regular readers will be the likes of Christmas, The Dwarves, Stacy Crowne & Scumbag Millionaire. Opening up the album is a truly brutal “knocked out of the motherfuckin’ park” take of ‘I Gotta Knife’ from the zero fucks given combo that is Christmas. A band that got what Turbonegro was all about and carried the very same DNA coursing through their veins. That’s how to open a tribute album and make the listener sit up and pay attention. Bosh! job done.
How to follow that up? Ah, I know Scumbag Millionaire. Yup, ‘Just Flesh’ is a clap of thunder that scorches your speakers. Taking the spirit of the song and turbocharging it to the max. This is sounding like a top tribute already and we’re only two songs deep. I reach for the volume this deserves to be turned up louder as a sleazy ‘Du Mongo’ makes my skin crawl for all the right reasons as its creepy crawl through my speakers. Hang on it’s The motherfuckin’ Dwarves putting their sleazy slap on ‘Blow Me (Like The Wind)’ like only the Dwarves know-how. Dripping in sex appeal and slithering through the broken glass floorboards of some damp dark dungeon this is a blast and exactly how a tribute album should roll.
Notable bands I’ve not heard before would be CatEater taking on ‘Hurry Up And Die’
Stacy Crowne gets the tone spot on for their romp through ‘Humiliation Street’ getting the thin line between Street Punk and big glorious Glam Rock. I am quietly glad the bands stayed away from a lot of the big-ticket turbo tunes and went for deeper cuts. I know there are a lot of top trumps with cult bands seeing who can pick the most obscure to cover but I don’t think that’s the case here the songs are treated with the right amount of respect and bands have taken ownership in their styles which is fantastic.
‘Selfdestructo Bust’ from Alarmstufe Rot is a riot whilst Deviltrain walks on the sleazy wild side with ‘Rendezvous With Anus’. Syff takes a buckin’ bronco ride on the frantic smasher that is ‘Prince Of The Rodeo’ delivered with an air of “have some of that” and in keeping with the rest of this album is a top turn. Hell even Christmas main man Max delivers a sleazy ‘Everybody Loves A Chubby Dude’ Feed Me Feed Me, Feed me more of this more like, inject this sleazy punk rock right into my bloodstream.
The Dogs dish up a romping ‘Armed And Fairly Well Equipped’ with parping keys added to the thuggish riff for good measure. Finally signing off this monumental tribute is a Schreng Schreng & La La with a Haunting ‘Sailor Man’ in the style of Johnny Cash and his American recordings style twisting your Mellon in true Turbo style.
Listen, I know there will be detractors of tribute albums but Turbonegro was way out there with the greats of the underground and the original lineup with Hank was a very special band to many many people the flame will be kept burning as long as bands like these keep rolling out records as good as this one. Get it, listen to it, investigate the bands that deliver the goods and then bow down to Turbonegro and all who sailed in her for they were an exceptional band and they spawned many fine bands who followed in their footsteps and continue to do so. Buy It! Then check out the bands who make this such a great record they deserve your support.
Pick it up Here
Author: Dom Daley
Back in the late 80s/early 90s Sat David’s Hall, situated at the heart of Cardiff’s city centre, was the go-to place for touring bands (of any genre) wanting to add a Welsh date to their UK tour. Anyone who was anyone played the multi-tier venue and as a gig going punter if you were lucky enough to get a ticket within the first 5 rows you were pretty much guaranteed a top night out, as that magic number of rows meant you’d avoid the security cordon placed in the aisles and be in the crush at the front no matter what come showtime. Those shows became the stuff of legend.
In the decades that followed, the place morphed into a much more sedate comedy/cabaret show kind of venue with the odd proper music gig thrown in for good measure, and as a result it’s known now as a venue for all seated shows, and in accordance you stay seated for fear of being thrown out for the crime of simply having too much of a good time.
I’m telling you this because this is the dilemma I faced when Suede initially announced the UK leg of the tour in support of their amazing (and my RPM album of the year 2022) ‘Autofiction’ record. Do I go to Cardiff and risk it being something akin to a night at the opera, or do I go to Bristol and be packed into the Bristol Academy paying way over the odds for anything and everything thanks to that venue’s owners?
Common sense prevailed though when thanks to a band sanctioned pre-sale ticket link I managed to acquire seats within that magical first 5 rows area within the stalls of Cardiff’s once number one live music venue, and all I had to do now was hope that the new generation (ouch) of fans that follow Suede would be having none of this sitting down malarky that my age group seemingly seem all to happy to oblige with. I mean even Saxon – one of the first heavy rock bands to ever play the venue played it recently to a largely seated crowd – what the hell is that all about?
Arriving early to catch tonight’s support band, the Fierce Panda signed Desperate Journalist, the initial signs of what might follow are not necessarily encouraging. Everyone is seated and very much subdued for what is essentially a masterclass in early 90s indie music, but then again, the band, now four albums into an already decade long career, are hardly the household names they could be, so I’ll not panic, just yet. Fronted by Jo Bevan, who whilst possessing a voice to die for is tonight also wearing a vintage ‘Gold Against The Soul’ shirt not knowing that Manic St Preachers singer James Dean Bradfield is actually watching too. The London based band effortlessly deliver a set of quality tunes, all seemingly honed from the same period in time when The Cardigans, The Sundays and Bjork all sold bucket loads of albums, and St David’s Hall was losing its rock audience to the recently opened Newport Centre. A venue I first saw Suede play at all the way back in (I think) December 1994. And I can’t help but agree with their frontman Brett Anderson when he would later go on to say (whilst thanking the band for their support on their final night together on this run of shows) “Desperate Journalist, are a band I expect to see a lot more of following this tour”.
As the house lights go up, it quickly becomes obvious that behind the young lad selling interval ice creams (I kid you not) there’s no barrier in place in front of the stage here tonight, and as some of the younger members of the audience start to position themselves around the edge of said stage my heart skips a few beats (which is not always a good thing when you have AF), as the prospect of this being a proper old school St David’s Hall night out becomes more of a reality.
By the time Suede take to the dry ice drenched stage with ‘Turn Off Your Brain and Yell’ (which also acts as an instruction manual for those now tightly pressed up against the stage) the whole of the front section is already bouncing (thanks to its sprung floor) and its a world away from the sedate gig environments I’ve experienced in the same venue of late, where gentle applause is de rigueur and standing up is a strict no no, well maybe for the encore.
Tonight, everyone, and I do mean everyone, in the stalls is up on their feet from the get go, not least for fear of the band’s snake-hipped frontman Brett Anderson spotting you not enjoying yourself, something I think he’d actually take as a personal insult. These days he’s far more savage (but a nice kind of savage you know) in his craft as he stalks the edge of the stage cajoling the faithful at every opportunity to get involved for the 90 minutes his band up there on stage.
Now some 30 plus years together (granted there was a decade long hiatus included in that) and with God knows how many hit singles to choose from, Suede are thankfully one of those bands who don’t play the same set night after night, realising that a sizeable chunk of their core audience will attend multiple shows, they are always throwing curveballs (for example in Liverpool over the weekend they played a host of tunes from their ‘Bloodsports’ album to celebrate that record being a decade old), and tonight is no exception, with newer tracks like ’15 Again’, ‘She Still Leads Me On’ and ‘Personality Disorder’ sitting side by side with deeper cuts like ‘This Hollywood Life’ and a completely bonkers, yet totally amazing, piano and vocal reworking of ‘Obsessions’, introduced as “the only good song from the shit album” by Anderson, something I don’t actually agree with him on this time around, as I still quite like ‘A New Morning’.
Of course, the hits like ‘Trash’, ‘The Drowners’, and ‘Animal Nitrate’ are all included, but then so are ‘Europe Is Our Playground’ (the first brief respite coming 9 songs in) and ‘Its Starts And Ends With You’, providing us punters with a set list that keeps us totally on our toes, in more ways than one.
Addressing the audience mid-set a sweat drenched Anderson asks rhetorically why do we come to live music shows when we could just stay at home and listen to the music? The answer is of course is to experience an other-worldly connection, not just with the band, but with our fellow gig goers too, and if I were to single out one area that Suede truly excel in these days (outside of writing absolute genius music) it is this very area. From the simple fact that the band look like they are loving every second of tonight (I’m sure Neil Codling even manages a smirk at one point) through to the fact that their tickets and merchandise are all reasonably priced, this is the sign of a band at one with their core fan base, something that is reciprocated via the “sold-out” signs flashed across all of the nights on this tour, and boy what a proper multi-date UK tour it is too. One that would put bands half their age to shame in the current financial climate.
Closing down the main set tonight with the double early Suede glam-thems ‘So Young’ and ‘Metal Mickey’ its not just Brett Anderson who is grinning from ear to ear but everyone in the building, and that right there is once again the secret to Suede’s undying success. If you’ve read the frontman’s superb autobiographies you understand what the five guys involved have sacrificed to do what they do and the effort it has taken to get to where they find themselves, and the fact that this tour isn’t so much a celebration of their past and more about what lies ahead (I think I counted 7 songs from ‘Autofiction’ in the set), is what really excites me most about the band here in 2023.
Encoring with a full-on crowd participation run through of ‘Beautiful Ones’, Suede, and in fact St David’s Hall, have never sounded better than they do here tonight. It was life affirming to experience such an inclusive live event in a venue so dear to so many of us old school music fans, and I’m so glad I made the choice I did at the top of this review.
A simply magnificent night of live music!
Author: Johnny Hayward
What we have here is Kepi Ghoulies love letter to the love songs of the Ramones. Its as simple as that nothing clever justsimple versions of simple songs a homage to Da Bruddahs. Hey ho lets go! 1-2-3-4.
Kepi has been releasing a love song or two every Valentines for well over a decade and when recording ‘I Want You Around’ Kepi hit on the idea of enlisting as many friends as possible to add Keyboards, Horns, whatever was needed to pour in the love on these iconic tracks. I think its fair to say that The Ramones never really got the universal credit for their songwriting that they deserved and I know that people like Kepi feel the same and every now and then when someone with equal talent shines a light into the darkened corner of rock labelled The Ramones people always trip over the songwriting and rightly so. These Love Letters are reimagined and redefined and done so so well.
‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’ kicks things off in the simple acoustic guitar and vocal lament you could imagine and it brings a tear to my eye. Beautiful. The saxophone on ‘Baby I Love You’ reminds me of Johnny Thunders when he last toured with the oddballs – simple and sublime. Same for ‘Here Today Gone Tomorrow’. ‘Needles And Pins’ has some lush electric guitar for texture making it sound like the Byrds but one of my favourite Ramones songs is ‘Questioningly’ and there is a cover out there by Jesse Malin that was a wonderful take on such a beautiful song and Kepi has taken it somewhere else with the lap steel.
‘Baby I Love You’ from the Phil Spector wall of sound album is taken on a trip with just acoustic guitar and saxophone is the sound of heartbreak and the strained vocals are just what this version needs. It might be hard to mix it up but not picking the mega hits and instead digging deep for tracks like ‘She’s A Sensation’, ‘7-11’ being almost acapella and ‘My Kinda Girl’ so its a great mix of deep cuts and course the more appropriate love songs.
If you love Da Bruddahs and Kepi Ghoulie or just want to hear something softer and downright interesting then this has to be something you need to check out besides if you’re having a candlelight meal for you and your love then this will earn brownie points for sure. Stick with it though because ‘She ‘Belongs To Me’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’ are probably two of the best songs on offer for interpretation and delivery. Keep em coming Kepi I’m loving your work. Buy It!
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Author: Dom Daley
After deciding to make the relatively short trip across the bridge into England’s South West to catch Trampolene play an electric set before a meet and greet we were making good time before hitting the citys tragic one way system and road closures and rush hour. It wasn’t looking good that we’d make the half six kick off. Alas our fears subsided when we found out it wasn’t actually kicking off until an hour later. Relax have a drink and join the compact crowd for this tea time soiree.
The band took to the stage and proceeded to grasp the nettle and dish up a delightful hour long set drawn from all corners of the bands repertoire but obviously leaning on the new album (RPM ONLINE review) which was obviously the reason we were all gathered together in the excellent live room of Bristol’s Rough trade store. The sound was fantastic and with the appreciative and dedicated audience it made for an intimate and rewarding performance. The “New” songs peppered the set and there were debut outings for songs like the beautiful ‘Alexander Palace’ that sounded as comfortable as a pair of your favourite slippers it was tight and took one of the new records most impressive songs to another level.
The people in attendance seemed mesmerised at times and really got into the spirit of what was going on as ‘Money’ nestled into the set with its big Fuzz bass alongside old friends like ‘Beautiful Pain’ that sounded superb without any drunken shouts from a pissed up audience who just wanted to throw beers and jump around – which is fine but its these moments that make those moments even more special. I said in my review that the new record sounded like a hit record and I stand by that the overall song writing has been turned up as the months and years roll by these boys are absorbing the journey like a sponge and deserve the accolades they are getting.
Before we even had time to loosen up and dance to ‘Uncle Brian’s Abattoir’ Jack was left onstage to leave us with ‘Poundland’ and then it was done. A thoroughly enjoyable and excellent set from one of the best indie bands currently kicking up a stink anywhere and releasing records that really matter. when they wrap up these instores they head out on a club tour in April and will probably come to a town near you – don’t sit on it, get out there and support an excellent live band who have several albums that really matter and dish up memorable live shows. Get on it!
Author: Dom Daley
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