Heavens to Murgatroyd! Not content with one album, Friday the 13th of November sees three connected releases on Damaged Goods. It’s back to the Medway delta, and the first for review is the new platter by Thee Headcoats; ‘Children Of The Sect’.
So, dust off your deerstalker and prepare to immerse yourself in 14 tunes from “the undisputed kings of garage rock”. You may scoff, but their two gigs at the Electric Ballroom in March are already sold out. There is humour here, but the riffs are taken seriously, whether the Link Wray inspired ‘Hacksaw’ and ‘Yellow Nosed Bastards’ or album opener ‘The Medway Queen’, which should get you bopping with its feral solo. Billy Childish and the gang are back, after 2023’s ‘Irregularis’, and it’s like they’ve never been away.
‘Blind, Blonde Hair’ is a dark, autobiographical tale; keep away from the weirdos in the bushes, kids. ‘Bo Diddley’s A Serial Killer’ speaks for itself, complete with tribal rhythm, while ‘Bring It To Jerome’ adds razor blade harmonica to the primitive riff. It’s down to the bone, and better for it. The title track will have you swinging your pants with joy, rattling along between The Sonics and The Cramps.
The garage rock nuggets keep on coming. ‘The Reason We Didn’t Sound Like The Smiths’…”is because we wanted to sound like this!”. ‘One Horse Town’ is a raucous riot, and Billy revisits ‘Failure, Not Success’ from the 2023 album of the same name. Such is his wont, but I can’t complain when there’s a total of 14 songs here.
As ever, Thee Headcoats please themselves, which is why it works so well. With so many projects on the go, there’s no sign of Billy slowing down. Each one is an acquired taste, and I’m firmly in the Headcoats camp. Garage rock gents of the highest order.
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Author: Martin Chamarette
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