After the debacle of his last long player, we worried that he would hang up his studded codpiece and mask and say fuck it and head off into the desert and look for other life forms on planets far far away but alas he’s back in the saddle and shooting from his hip with his usual caustic, amusing controvercial punk rock songs that are instantly loveable and instantly burrowing into your ear heading straight for your brain and the part that likes nice things.

Still banned from venues all over this spinning rock and Interpol reportedly has an ongoing warrant out for his immediate arrest on undisclosed charges. He rarely appears in public and very few have seen him without a mask. There have been numerous reports of Hewho impersonators spotted all over the world, especially when The Dwarves play live shows. It has even been suggested that He Who Cannot Be Named does not really and is merely a rock legend. Perhaps Hewho himself is an imposter. We will probably never know for sure. but this latest album is working off the real deal, not an Imposter these songs couldn’t possibly have been written by someone else and neither would anyone attempt to perform instead of him. Imagine the life lived inside that mask FFS only one man could be depraved enough to put it on and do what he does night after night and its also a fact he records wearing nothing more than the mask and his unwashed codpiece its what drives him on to write and perform such classics as those that appear on this here album.

I think it fair to say early doors that this is easily my favourite HeWho solo album every song is classic HeWho with some just shading it for one reason or another like the suitable un PC ‘Proud Girl’ Hot for Hitler ffs, HeWho is gonna be cancelled. Anyway, Let’s wind back to the top and the opening one or two of ‘Funny Farm’ then straight into hypertension that is ‘Panic Attack’ pure Hewho and I love it.

C’mon you know how this is gonna unfurl from those Beach Boys meets the Dwarves melodies like ‘Happy Unhappy’ backed by multi layered gang vocals and some fuzzed up guitar over a skippy back beat – Joyous!

This one is fourteen tracks that fly by in double quick time – if you don’t like it then I feel sorry for you the lyrics are cheeky and often funny but after a bit of digging really clever. ‘The Thing’ has the Motorhead break down over a Ramones verse chorus verse chorus solo chorus end -genius. If you’re after a howling good time listening to punk rock with melodies and hooks galore with pop sensible choruses all wrapped up with a sense of humour then this album is right up your strasse baby get on it without delay – Beluga – ghost Highway and Spaghetty Town will do you a dirty deal and get this bad boy out to you with love and care because they also know how fuckin good this record is.

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Author: Dom Daley