From Washington, via London, The Dilrods play dirty Punk Rock and Roll and they do it very well just in case you wondered.  ‘Spare The Rod’ leans on the sounds of bands like The Heartbreakers or the Joneses and a whole lot more in between damn it reminds me of Sorry & The Sinatras in places.  Its loud guitars played with attitude and passion (which always helps).  When making a record of this nature you need the magic X factor to really make your record sparkle and these three punks have just about nailed it here. It’s leaning heavily on the rock and Roll of the Joneses and Heartbreakers for sure but considering it’s only three Rods they sure as hell make a racket. ‘Off The Squad’ is a cool number that doesn’t just Rock as everyone knows to really stand out you have to roll as well and so many bands do a great job Rockin’ but miss the Roll but not The Dilrods.

Nine tracks in less than twenty minutes are as cool as a polar bear sitting on an ice cube. I do hope that’s a picture of them from the archive on the artwork and the back art looks like a right hoot of a morning after.

There’s no reinventing the wheel here but you get an earful of ragged punk rock n roll and a beaming smile whilst you’re at it.  Right from the kick-off the fuzzed vocals of ‘Love Sick’ and its solid rhythm is battering your temple and breaking you down for what’s to come. The swagger of ‘Angry Little Man’ is one that reminded me of Scott Sorry’s combo.  It’s swinging like a good un and is a fantastic burst of energy for ‘Validate Me’ that comes out of the speakers swinging like its throwing out time and the pub.  I’m also getting reminders of Uncle Sam when they did their ‘Heaven Or Hollywood’ album.  the production is similar in as much as it sounds organic and just tries (and Succeeds) to capture the energy of the performance.

I couldn’t pick a favourite because they’re jumping around at the moment and I’m loving the lot.  It’s a really complete album that just kills it from opener to the final chord – attitude, delivery, sound and most importantly they’ve got the songs.  they’ve got a pocket full of absolute bangers and they can be yours for a few wisely spent quids.  Now do the right thing, check out The Dilrods and invest in a proper album and join the club!

Buy ‘Spare The Rod’ Here

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Author: Dom Daley