Probably the sleaziest band on the planet right now taking on all comers and turning up the fuzz and writing essential Rock and Roll at every turn. These cats are the alpha males of dirty garage rock and roll and I’m saying right here from the off that had this bad boy not been released so late in the year it would have steamed into the top ten with ease.

They’ve been causing trouble since 2015 and now reside in the seedy underbelly of London Town after escaping their native New Zealand to reach a wider audience.  If you’re asking me what do they sound like well, they play dirty filthy punk rock ‘n’ garage real old school fuzzed-up garage Rock n roll like Iggy ‘n’ Ron used to play with some Brain James licks thrown into the mix They’re wild and reckless like Ron ‘n’ Wayne played in the MC5.  They stole from Lux and Ivy and they took it all and consumed the lot and became The Cavemen. When ‘Snakeskin’ bursts through the speaker I can sit back and take it all in as the fearless foursome just kick the living shit out of their Rock and Roll and sling in some well-timed cliched guitar licks for good measure. But wait, ‘Boyfriend’ even with its fuzzed guitar-slinging and bad boy lyrics its got rhythm and handclaps it’s like the Ramones badly-behaved cousins who just drink beer and fight have turned up and this time they’re getting serious.

Man, I thought it was impossible for these cats to get any better then they turn up with an acoustic guitar and throw out ‘I Don’t Know Why’.  Its a bit soppy maybe it’s their age or they’ve run out of spite and bile and its time to settle down. what a tune but wait, agh! normal service is resumed as ‘Can’t Resist’ is spat out like only a bunch of angry young men can do.

The title track is like a dirty filthy power-pop ditty with great backing vocals it would seem the Cavemen have stolen Los Pepes crown for penning rapid chunks of garage power pop. ‘Night After Night’ is a banger from its Jam like chord changes and bass thump to the melodic chorus and Bv’s and uptempo pace these guys are on fire!

They take it back down and dial back into the acoustic-electric Ramones theft of ‘Belgian Holiday’ because this could have fallen off the back of ‘End Of The Century’ easily. (Minus the Spector wall of sound obviously) “oooh, I wanna Be Your Boyfriend” who cares anyway The Ramones stole it anyway.

‘Slave’ sounds like Jim Jones having a blast on some 70s glitter but the trashy glitter that the Dolls peddled.  But there’s so much going on within this record, the variety of tunes and the change of gears is a masterstroke. Of course, the songs pretty much hover around the two-minute mark so they’re never going to get boring that’s a given.

the two singles that they’ve made videos for show how varied they get and how strong the melodies are.  ‘Knife fight’ is rapid and a lot of fun whilst ‘Are You Lonely?’ delves further back into the 60s for their inspiration before blasting off toward the album’s conclusion and the penultimate track sounds exactly how you’d imagine someone like The Dead Boys would sound if they were just starting out in 2019 – exciting – energetic – confident and essential. Which leaves their stab at slide filled cowboy rock and roll ‘Death Will Never Change’ which just about wraps up a stunning record.  A headfuck of an album that will leave you reeling – one that kicks you then gives you a hug and shares its beer with you but only if you’re 100% in.  Me I’m there. Someone get me a beer I’m going back in, ‘Night After Night’ is a crazy roller coaster ride of Rock and Roll unoriginal as shit but fuck me it sounds so damn good!

Buy ‘Night After Night’ Here

Author: Dom Daley