Regular readers will need no introduction to Joe A Maddox and his merry men. Over the last couple of years, he’s been busy writing and developing his Continental Lovers from a project to a full band. In that respect, he shares some common ground with his ex-Breakdowns band mate Matt Julian, now of The Speedways.
One of the downsides of living in France is that I’m unlikely to see the Lovers boys on a stage any time soon. However, you lucky people can see them across the UK supporting Spike’s Quireboys and The Dogs D’amour in Nov/December, as well as performing some headline gigs.
Of the 13 tracks here, you may already be familiar with previous releases, such as ‘Tape Deck’ which well and truly kicks things off. “Take a C90 and put it in your tape deck..” There’s a hint of The Vapors, a whiff of 1979, which is fine by me. If they’d been around at the time, I’d probably have had ‘Continental Lovers’ scrawled on my pencil case.
‘St. Joan’ is their punchy tribute to Ms Jett, you can almost smell the black leather, while ‘Really Doesn’t Matter’ is two minutes of power pop that is reminiscent of early Cheap Trick and The Speedways, so, quite a treat. ‘Paraffin Lips’ and ‘Tattered Star’ have already done the rounds chez moi, short stabs that are fun to return to, but I’m really absorbed in the new songs, particularly ‘Connection’, which will give The Dogs D’amour a run for their money on the upcoming tour. With the legendary (round here) Willie Dowling providing keyboards and knob twiddling (in the studio), they’ve thrown everything at this tune; castanets, handclaps and a solo worthy of J D Bradfield, and it works in their favour.
‘Make Up Your Mind’ will keep Uncle Dom Daley happy in the cover version quota, a faithful take on the Stiv Bators classic. ‘Outta Sight’ throws a little Buzzcocks into the mix with the melody line solo. “These Lovers are outta sight” is their motto, young and full of it, as is only right. They also make the effort to look like a band, which people seem embarrassed to do nowadays. Flaunt it!
‘Wedding Song’ and ‘The Girl’ offer a more introspective, acoustic sound. Quality melancholy, with shades of Tom Petty. ‘Dale Arden’ is an ode to Flash Gordon’s paramour/heroine of the silver screen, another addictive tune, while ‘Let’s Go Out Tonight’ flys by in a blur of Ramones-style intent.
Available on digital platforms from 15th November, the CD is out on 13th December via Cadiz Music/Real Vision Records. Check their Facebook page for the upcoming tour dates, folks. These songs were made to be played live, so don’t miss out. You’re gonna love it.
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Author: Martin Chamarette
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