Heaven help the biographer who takes on the unwieldy task of compiling the career of Billy Childish. Musician, writer, painter, folklore character and more. We are here to talk music, but even this is a slippery undertaking. Having just reviewed ‘Failure, Not Success’, here comes the first album by Thee Headcoats in 22 years. Yes, Billy, Bruce and Johnny are back, after their recent tribute EP to The Downliner Sect.
Has time affected them? Of course not! Tweed Deerstalkers in place, and we’re off! 12 tracks veering from the Medway sound to their chaotic ‘Dustbin Mod’, as on final song ‘The Kids Are All Square’. On ‘Thee Headcoatitude’, they still manage to breathe life into old garage rock riffs, with ‘7% Solution’ giving a nod to Link Wray.
Whether it’s ‘The Baker Street Irregulars’ and its call of “who’ll be next in line to don the Deerstalker hat?”, complete with wailing harp, or the story of ‘Mr H Headcoat’, like an English cousin of The Cramps, you either get it or you don’t. Obviously, I’m in the former group, which means this year is getting expensive. And that’s not including buying new headgear. Can I carry off a Deerstalker? Sir Quentin may have the answer, as he is heard on ‘The Leader Of The Sect’. Confused? Don’t worry, just press play, old chap…
It’s always a good day when I hear that Jeff Dahl is in the studio recording a new album. You start to get word that its got that raw, aggressive punk rock that we often assosciate with people like Jeff and thats always a reason to get excited.
Album number bazillion and twenty lands on my doormat and as soon as the opening riff hits the ether via my CD player I’m smiling and nodding. The raw slash of that electric guitar kicks in and the steady beat crashes through as the title track is a throbbing, pumping, cutting slab of style and it has the swagger you want from a Jeff Dahl record.
As we exit one of the weirdest times known to man the tough get going and it seems a lot of writers were busing their downtime writing and recording via this wonderful internet. ‘All My Friends Are Crows’ is barking out the speakers and life just got a little calmer inside from the thundering drum rolls to that scratched riff its wearing an invisible coat of awesome like a forcefield, loving it. Essentially what you have here is ten slabs of old-school, no-bullshit punk rock n roll. From the Stooges via the Dolls and the Damned and a whole variety of others, the baton was indeed handed down to Mr Dahl who lit the fucker up and carried that burning torch with passion and a fistful of rock-solid punk rock records. After all these years that flame is still blazing. The likes of the mid-paced ‘Atomic Ant Invasion’ is more a stomping march than a casual stroll. Hold on though don’t get too comfortable because ‘We Must Destroy’ is thumping its way into the world from the gnarly guitars through the snotty lyrics it’s classic Jeff Dahl and if you’re not excited by this I’d get to the medical room and get checked for a pulse.
I love the infectious opening of ‘A Little Bird Said’ from the thumping drums it’s like Dahl is channeling the spirit and attitude of the Dead Boys into 2023 and who better than Jeff Dahl to take care of that spirit and use it great effect. The minamilstic guitar break hits the spot – why over play when all thats required is heart and soul.
With only ten songs on offer, Jeff has knuckled down and streamlined whats on offer and picked the perfect songs to maximise his kill count on this lean, mean rockin’ machine. It is all killer and no filler, there simply isn’t the time or space. Whether you dip in or just let it wash over you the energy is right up there ‘The Spider Sisters’ has plenty of attacks and just enough cowbell. Hell, wherever you dip in it’s the same result – ‘Manahampeetah’ or the sleazy ‘Let It Drool’ it is ‘Bat Shit Crazy’ how damn good this is.
The record is summed up on the penultimate cut of ‘Wild, Beautiful and Free’ ok it might not be free but it is Wild and Beautiful. I might heap the superlatives when I get excited over a record being released but sometimes when you get a record and have expectations that you try and dampen whats the poont? The days of tryign to be cool or not fussed are gone and after first play some records wipe you out. Why the fuck shouldn’t you rave over it? Dahl might have sold his soul to Lucifer for the quality on this record but the brooding slow builder that is the album closer ‘Saint Lucifer’ breaks out and speeds up with a hypnotic riff thats like being thumped repeatidly by a heavyweight before slowing down to a crawl and signing offwith a bye bye. I think both Lucifer and Jeff Dahl got good deals here.
The fact that Dahl does everything except hit the drums is brilliant he and Sam Bradley should be immensely proud of this album because, whilst I’ve loved the last few he’s done from ‘Electric Junk’, through the collaboration with “Demons” and ‘Made In Hawaii’ ‘this latest’All My Friends Are Crows’ top trumps the lot of them – The quality of the songs is noticable and if you can I strongly advise you to pick it up. Stateside you get in contact with Jeff for the CD and those over this side of the pond as soon as Ghost Highway drop the vinyl copies get stuck right in and pick up what will no doubt be one of 2023s best albums and you can take that to the bank as not so much an opinion but a fact! Buy It!
Jeff dosn’t want to sell these CDs in Canada, Australia, Japan or Europe. The reason is that all of these places will cost over $15 just for postage (He’s sending from Hawaii) so you’re looking at a $26 CD, which is just too damn expensive and really, don’t order it unless you can’t live without it and you’re rich or something.
Also please note that a deluxe vinyl version will is being made in Spain on Ghost Highway
South Wales noise merchants dish up a refined slimline seven smashers. South Wales is a hotbed of talent at the moment belching up bands left right and centre who are getting out there and delivering their tunes to audiences far and wide. Letting the music do their talking this three piece are hard at the coal face chiselling away their corner of the music scene. Working hard, playing shows refining your craft and dishing up the best songs you can muster is the MO and on this debut release it would appear to be paying dividends.
Kicking off with ‘Syls II’ with its jarring abrasive guitars not a million miles from Fugazi dragging Thrapy? along for the ride, it’s a rallying call where vocalist and guitar player Cameron McIntyre is barking his words into the void for anyone and everyone to hear.
‘Prince Plays At Funerals has one foot on the Idles monitor wedge whilst the other harks back to a time when Nirvana would push back boundaries in the mainstream making it possible for young men to fuck with our ears and people to enjoy that thumping bass that is cold angles poking away at your ears before driving into your head with the sharp guitars and drum assault because this is an assault – make no mistake. It’s not easy listening but once you dial in it’s pretty damn good stuff. The St Pierre Snake Invasion were and are dishing this stuff up across the border in Bristol and the popularity of Idles and their post-punk juggernaut have made post-punk and indy cross over a mainstream concern and the masses are now fair game. With old school alt-punk like Fugazi has to be an influence on the sound created here. It’s great to see and hear bands getting “it” and turning in great records that deserve to be heard far and wide.
The single ‘Swede’ is a great advert for whats coming. It’s not anew sound but boy is it a good one. But there is more going on here with some decent lyrics and great rhythms to go with the rage and passion on display. ‘Greenhouse’ being a great example of that chaos and roaring attitude making for a banging tune. ‘Cwffin Of Flowers’ has that dark melody that the Manics sailed close to when they were deep into the Holy Bible but not with this much rage to go with that darkness. That rumbling bass is excellent and it rings out loud and proud.
Signing off this excellent album is the slower, brooding ‘Malaise’ rising and chest beating before calming down and taking a breath. A fine collection of tunes on a fine platter of post-punk to rival its peers wherever they may be. Only Fools And Corpses by this time next year might not be millionaires but they’ll be out there in the dirt making music and taking names and dishing up some memorable performances on the strength of this very impressive debut offering – get on boys bach its a banger! Nothing vulgar about this Pissant.
The Hip Priests. Zero fucks n’ less success since 2006. The most prolific band you haven’t heard of. High energy sweaty sermons of misanthropy, disillusion (self) loathing and despair. Get ready to have your ears torn clean off.
After 16 years some bands would be taking it easy but in spite of a global pandemic, there was no let-up in The Hip Priests determination and activity. Their fifth, and by far their best full-length album – ‘Roden House Blues’ – was written, rehearsed, and recorded during this period and will be released May 5th, 2023, via The Sign Records.
Rehearsed, recorded and mixed between the numerous U.K lockdowns in Roden House, one of Nottingham’s former lace factories where the Priests have their own space, and which spawned the album title. This is no Mississippi Blues but perhaps it makes more sense than you think: Howling laments, loss, self-reflection and revelation – alongside some recurring Priests lyrical themes: negativity, nihilism, rage and revolution. After 2019’s ‘Stand for Nothing’ the band were unsure whether they’d do another album – However, global lockdown inadvertently led to a renewed passion and realisation that, like Jagger said, ‘’what can a poor boy do’ – especially when feeling more lost in a world that increasingly resembles a dumpster fire. A few dozen demos were scrutinised of which, through a stricter than ever group consensus, 14 were recorded but then honed down, razor sharp, into the tightest collection of 11 low-fat, lean and mean banging tunes that could fit into 30 minutes.
This week we get to feel another white-hot blast straight from the album’s furnace in new single ‘Just To Get By’, which finds the band in rare reflective form.
“Every day can be a struggle and happiness really is an inside job. None of us are perfect. Every day we’re pitted against each other and ourselves by a world that increasingly looks like a dumpster fire that wants to incinerate us. What can we do to just get by?
Perhaps just trying to improve, rise above and be a better person is an act of revenge nowadays. A number one single in an alternate universe with a guitar riff of such hook and beauty it was surely dropped from the Rock heavens.
We don’t JUST do Nihilism, Negativity, Rage and Revolution you know…”
This month also sees The Hip Priests team up with Northern Ireland’s The Dangerfields for an Irish tour. Having known each other for years and toured together back in 2010, when the bands paths crossed again last year, the idea of finally sorting that long talked about Irish tour was set in stone. And so The Hip Priests first time in Ireland kicks off in Derry on Weds 22nd March followed by four other shows all across the country.
Come along for an evening (or in Dublin’s case, afternoon) of face-ripping, ball-crushing, ass-immolating rock ‘n’ roll played by a bunch of doozies far too old to know any better! There will be loud guitars and rock poses, bad words and everything!
‘Roden House Blues’ is released May 5th via The Sign Records and available to pre-order HERE:
Sacre farkin’ bleu, Brother and sisters, What a glorious album cover this is. Certainly grabbed my attention and made me want to investigate further. Cum Together? tell me more… RIGHT NOW! Bordeaux, France’s HEARTBEEPS have emerged from the ashes of TV KILLERS (Estrus Records / Dead Beat Records), for a punked-up orgy of noise with current and ex-members of Swindlers, Wild Zeros and Holeshots, and this their debut “Cum Together” LP is a fuckin’ hoot, 100 mph of joyful, reckless punk rock. Like a whirlwind of clashing guitars, and drums. It’s frantic garage-based punk rock n roll. Straight out of the bag marked The Saints, Pagans, DMZ, MC5, Radio Birdman, Dead Moon and more than a dash of Cavemen and of course those early Damned records.
From the opening few bars, you get the impression that Heartbeeps are here for a good time not a long time and with their amps dialled in to 11 there isn’t time to fuck about its crash bang wallop and hey ho let’s go!
It’s the kind of music that got Elvis and Jerry Lee into trouble back in the day. Hip-shaking sweaty rock n roll and from the lead track ‘Criminals’ you know just what’s going down. ‘Sick In Your Head’ is a runaway train heading for the buffers but who ever cared about that? Guitars being rinsed for all they’re worth and you can feel the exhaustion from the drummer’s snare as it rings out. Great opener and a signal of intent.
That’s pretty much the MO of ‘Cum Together’ it’s a rush of blood to the head crash, Bang Wallop! To be fair the minute I saw that artwork I knew I had to hear what was committed to wax because those faces tell a thousand stories and all of them great. ‘Aint No Crime’ is a more measured, slower beast but with a cool riff and a solo that could cut through steel. Hold still kids because you should buckle up for we’re off again running red lights with ‘Nightmare’ and thats wiped out with the grooving ‘Never Stop’ that had me thinking of Garage Rock royalty – Gunfire Dance, from the hip-shaking tambourine through the howling good time vocals this is top notch.
There is the belligerent and snotty ‘I Don’t Care’ but you could pick out any of the songs for praise because this is an absolute Banger of a record from start to finish. ‘Sake Blast’ rings out the chords in true Brian James style before signing the record off with the wonderfully titled ‘Trust No One And Fuck Everybody’, drop the mic and burn the studio to the ground it’s only fair right?
Heartbeeps have smashed out a rip-snorting Garage Punk and Roll Banger and shame on you if you don’t let this light up your life. Ok, Turn it up and let’s take it from the top one more time 1-2-3-4 Go!
Get your deck out and get this pumping out of your boombox. Only Fools And Corpses get their decks out for the video of ‘SYLS II’ which gets its release next week (17th) and a review this week on RPM. Facebook
The second new video is from Bristol based noise bringers THE ST PIERRE SNAKE INVASION and ‘Submechano’ the first single off their new album ‘Galore’. It’s been quite a while since we crossed paths with the band bu ta new album will remedy that.
The British/Slovak band Craggy Collyde have joined the Austrian record company Mai Lei Bel and will be lighting up 2023 with a brand-new album and spring tour. The trio are based primarily in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and spent much of 2022 taking their live show to clubs and festivals across central Europe. They are currently working on their debut long-player, which will be released early this year. The album will follow on from their most recent material – the 2020 six-track mini-album Wrapped up in Ribbons.
Mixing their love of various creative influences, Craggy Collyde explore the boundaries of alternative rock and roll music whilst always retaining an uncompromising and intense energy.
You can catch them on these dates, with more being added soon:
Influential band stands among a select few of the most revered second-wave emo / indie bands of all time including their peers in The Promise Ring, Mineral, Christie Front Drive, Boys Life, Braid, Karate, and Rainer Maria.
“The lines between post-hardcore, indie rock, and emo blurred on the two mid-’90s full-lengths from the Van Pelt.”- Pitchfork
“New York City’s The Van Pelt are an influential, but too often overlooked indie rock band — cult favourites for many an emo-inclined crate digger.” – Consequence
“…should be mentioned a lot more than they are when you talk about the history of emo.”- Washed Up Emo
After twenty-five years of waiting, New York City cult indie favourites The Van Pelt have announced a March 17th release date for their upcoming fourth studio full-length, titled ‘Artisans & Merchants,’ which will be released jointly by Spartan Records in North America, La Castanya in Europe/World and Gringo in the UK.
The album was recorded and mixed in Summer / Fall 2021 by Jeff Zeigler (The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile) at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and features guest appearances by Nate Kinsella and Ted Leo among others.
The first single ‘Punk House’ is out now, along with a brand-new music video.
Frontman Chris Leo says, “When a bunch of old VHS tapes were unearthed, the band had them digitized and they turned out to be from US tours of the mid-90s. The footage is mainly of daily banalities: random purchases at rest stops, packing and unpacking the van, highway views that could be on the outskirts of Any Town USA. Yet there is a nostalgia to it that’s compelling. The song mirrors the mood in both sound and text. Lines like “The floor is filled with resin on the place where you’re to sleep / if you have enough to drink you can pretend that it’s a sheet” bring any musician back to the rougher side of days on the road — yet again, the subtext here is that the spirit of it all is to be longed for.”
The Van Pelt has announced a series of UK, EU and Brooklyn shows in March and April. See dates below. Pre-order ‘Artisans & Merchants’ here – https://thevanpelt.bandcamp.com
Do you know this year so far has been a blinder in terms of new releases we’ve only just left February and tipped into March and there have already been any number of contenders for Album of the year, this baby included, and judging by the number of pre-orders I’ve got pending there are going to be a fair few more.
This LP as I slip it onto the virtual deck instantly washes over you drawing you in to a gorgeous blend of Classic Americana, while holding on to a punk driven perspective, and that jarring of styles, so difficult to get right is what singles this Lp out as something a bit special.
If you’re a Springsteen fan, think back to the classic Darkness on the edge of town, The River, Nebraska period a songwriter redefining, honing in his style, very much as Rich has within the songs on this LP, embracing influences while building on his own style, (think if Bruce Springsteen did punk rock) moving to a beat that’s beginning to fully form, if you think Tom Petty, the Aforementioned Bruce Springsteen, hinting at Steve Earle but also dragging in Jesse Malin and some of the raw blues tinges of Lucinda Williams. This is a real step up from the Role Models a shift in focus embracing the past but moving into a future of real creativity.
Looking at the tracks stand outs for me “Til I’m on my feet again” hits hard with a huge sense of drive , desire and urgency reaching out to the future that’s not coming quick enough. Next up the searing, soul searching “The end of all things”. Not to say the prior tracks are weak tracks truth be told there isn’t a weak track on the LP.
“Forever Ghosts” and “Pretty Breeze” to me perfectly illustrate the light and shade within this baby play them back to back and you’ll see what I mean, So what do we have?
Contender for LP of the year? Definitely
A songwriter strengthening his style, embracing change? Absolutely
The LP that breaks outwards from the scene opening the music up to whole new audiences? Defiantly!!!
Do yourself a favour Buy, download, treat yourself to the t-Shirt, be one of the cool kids and more importantly support the artist.
The details of their new album Roden House Blues, due out May 5th, via The Sign Records. Stream their most recent single “Chasing Death” HERE.
“The finest Rock N’ Roll band in the UK” – Eddie Spaghetti, Supersuckers
Since their inception in 2006, THE HIP PRIESTS have released a mighty thirty 7” singles, four albums, two compilations and three EPs by various independent labels from all over Europe & the USA. Fiercely independent and tirelessly driven, the ‘Priests have preached their high energy sermon of misanthropy, hate and contempt across numerous tours of the UK, Europe and USA and made countless rapturously received festival appearances.
Gaining a richly deserved reputation as a white-hot live band, the last few years have seen the band’s popularity increasing further with them regularly playing alongside kindred spirits such as THE HELLACOPTERS, GLUECIFER, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE ZUGLY, NEW BOMB TURKS, DWARVES and ZEKE at both festivals and in clubs. Rave reviews pour in for every release, ranging from ‘a band on top of their game & steps ahead of any of their UK contemporaries’ to ‘if you’re in any doubt about how good these bad boys are then you need locking up’. After 16 years some bands would be taking it easy but in spite of a global pandemic, there was no let-up in their determination and activity. Their fifth, and by far their best full-length album – Roden House Blues – was written, rehearsed, and recorded during this period and will be released May 5th, 2023, via The Sign Records.
Rehearsed, recorded and mixed between the numerous U.K lockdowns in Roden House, one of Nottingham’s former lace factories where the Priests have their own space, and which spawned the album title. This is no Mississippi Blues but perhaps it makes more sense than you think: Howling laments, loss, self-reflection and revelation – alongside some recurring Priests lyrical themes: negativity, nihilism, rage and revolution. After 2019’s Stand for Nothing the band were unsure whether they’d do another album – However, global lockdown inadvertently led to a renewed passion and realization that, like Jagger said, ’what can a poor boy do’ – especially when feeling more lost in a world that increasingly resembles a dumpster fire. A few dozen demos were scrutinized of which, through a stricter than ever group consensus, 14 were recorded but then honed down, razor sharp, into the tightest collection of 11 low-fat, lean and mean banging tunes that could fit into 30 minutes.
11 glorious tracks of High Energy R’n’R, anthemic, adrenalised, sweaty, singalong, life-affirming Rock and Roll. Huge Choruses, colossal dual guitar riffarama, more hooks than a fishing shop, and one hell of an attitude. Punk? Garage Rock? Scandi Rock? Just know this…. They ARE THE HIP PRIESTS and YOU are NOT.
Play Loud or just don’t fuckin’ bother.
Roden House Blues is released on May the 5th and will be available on all streaming platforms, CD, and in three color variants on vinyl; (1) black vinyl, (2) solid turquoise vinyl with solid white splatter, solid black splatter, and solid blue splatter, and (3) transparent/clear vinyl with transparent yellow splatter and transparent pink splatter.
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