Chubby also Announces signing to Flatspot Records & play live show.
Charlie Manning is Chubby and The Gang. The 30-something-year-old born and bred Londoner, kicked off the project in 2019 with the intention of blending hardcore punk with the most infectious elements of ‘70s rock n roll and doo-wop. Charlie brought in a “gang” of rotating instrumentalists performing on the albums Speed Kills (2020) and The Mutt’s Nuts (2021), both released through Partisan Records. Fast forward to now and Chubby and the Gang joins long-running hardcore label Flatspot Records (Scowl, Speed) and shares the new single “The Bonnie Banks.”
“The Bonnie Banks” is an ode to London and just thinking things are going to be okay. Lead by lively guitar, the song has an infectious, but rough around the edges delivery. Manning’s storytelling nature of the track leads to a repetitive refrain that is begging to be shouted along with.
Chubby and The Gang will performing on June 15th at Flatspot World in London alongside Scowl, Jivebomb, and Stiff Meds. Tickets are available HERE.
OK here’s where I am. The Music business is often like swimming with sharks, which is not at all pleasant but if you feel the need to get in that beautiful rewarding blue water you have to take the plunge and take a chance. The murky waters often reward and make that risk worthwhile. Now The Wildhearts have had the wonderful uplands and sadly the lowlands of turmoil and very public self-harm. Often with such risk you have a real high (Album releases, great tours the full Makonky) followed by the low of lows and acrimonious fall outs all exasperated by the modern world we live in where the mere mortals have access to the main players and a social media content that is available at the blink of an eye. It wasn’t that long ago we all thought we’d seen the last of the Wildhearts and this time they were indeed broken beyond repair and the band simply couldn’t exist in each other’s orbit and couldn’t or wouldn’t admit it but as soon as that was realised the main players moved on and wounds started to heal. Rumours around a return of the name The Wildhearts were rife and alas a brand new lineup emerged. Fast forward to an album in the can acoustic shows from Ginger where the general vibe was really positive and the band had a new mojo and were ready to rock. Ginger seemed really up about what was happening and the day arrived it was all roads to Shepherds Bush Empire and lets Rock.
First up were the hard-rocking amigos that are Asomvel. They are unashamed hard rockin’ mofos. The four-piece take every hard rock cliché and embrace it and live it like they clearly love it. Marshall stacks unlike any band has used for about three decades that Biff n Lemmy would be proud of, plenty of Studded bullet bets and leather jackets, not to mention the odd legs akimbo and fist punching. Its game on as they embrace the void left by the mighty Motorhead and unashamedly try and fill an infinitesimal spec of it. Whether you like em or loath them you have to admit they do it with panache and a true belief that there is no other way from the hoarse vocals to the screaming les Pauls they go for it with boundless energy and enthusiasm. Vocalist and bass playing Lemmy lover Ralph pirouettes when prowling the stage like Lem did and even bares a passing resemblance the only thing lacking was the big hook, but hey, that can come, one step at a time. Besides they were having a ball even ending their set with a full band bow that was lapped up by many who got in early to catch their set. Being unfamiliar with their music didn’t help but their brand of hard rock is a fine art and one that isn’t being practiced by many so more power to them. These gents were ‘Born To Rock and Roll’ just like their song said and who would deny them?
Merthyr three-piece Florence Black were up next with their heavy as hell Soundgarden meets Alice In Chains style. It’s the perfect platform for powerhouse vocalist Thomas who has thr vocals to fit that style perfectly. What they offered is a hard rock, sludgy, ‘riff-heavy as breezeblocks’ sound that this scene needs. Even with some technical problems that potentially tried to derail them, they recovered to entertain large sections of the audience – someone else’s audience I might add, and to be fair they had the best sound of the night where a rich crystal clear sound filled not only the Empire but half of West London I’d imagine. Safe to say my Rockin Welsh brothers delivered the good and went down really well. ymdrech dda bachden.
Whilst I might not have read Kerrang for about 30 years I would imagine they are some hot shit at the moment with a critically acclaimed record on the shelves. In vocalist and guitarist Tristan Thomas he has a voice right up there with the best of this genre and one that deserves to be heard and not buried in time. Even if you aren’t a fan of the genre you have to surrender to their enthusiasm and passion for what it is they’ve chosen to do.
With the stage cleared to reveal a minimalist set made up of an old school drum riser and some platforms flanked by some confetti canons and big boys sparklers, The latest incarnation of The Wildhearts were about to be birthed so without delay the band took to the Empire Stage to be greeted like returning heroes. The set promises plenty of twists and turns so opening with ‘Sleepaway’ isn’t safe at all (good effort) the band cover pretty much every inch of the stage and new boy Ben Marsden is beaming like a Cheshire cat as he lays down the riffs like he’s been at this for years, offering a different style and approach to some very familiar songs and I liked his Angus Young style solos. He offered up an excellent alternative style to what Ginger does and it worked, because they worked and he was laying his stamp on some fan favourites all with a contagious beaming smile across his cheeky chops.
Ginger seemed in good spirits and wanted to get on with his job and entertain the masses. He seemed genuinely moved as well with the feedback from the rapturous audience who embraced every second of the set, which was exactly as promised, varied and with pyro – It was a new band with new energy obviously the set had its non-negotiable must plays like ‘Caffeine Bomb’ ‘Shitville’ and ‘Headfuck’ but the best songs of the night for me were the excellent inclusion of ‘Slaughtered Authors’ with that magical bassline opener as well as ‘The Jackson Whites’. Sure I love to hear the “classics” but with such a vast catalogue its great to hear songs from outside the box or what might be deemed the safe set.
Sure they could have ploughed through 90 minutes of bangers but this is the Wildhearts for fucks sake that’s not going to cut it. There was also time for a pair of new songs that will make up the new album set for later in the year and the latter being almost Ballad like ‘Hurt People Hurt People’ and the most out of the Wheelhouse for the Wildhearts and dare I say not your typical Ginger solo song either. The first however was much more a “Wildhearts” song ‘Eventually’.
All things considered, this was a win for The Wildhearts and having Ben on board seems like a great move from Ginger his positive PMA and quality of playing can only be a boon going forward and for a first outing this can only be considered a win. oh, and having big boys sized sparklers and confetti cannons is always nice – not enough bands go the whole hog mog. Just when you thought it might be all over they rise from the ashes and exciting times are once again there for The Wildhearts to grasp with both hands. Onwards and upwards the music world is always better when The Wildhearts are making music and entertaining us live. Now, let’s get the album released and get this shit on the road around shit island so everyone gets to see the triumphant rebirth of The Wildhearts it’ll make you happy.
A 15-track compilation of current underground Swansea guitar bands or should that be part one because the local scene is bustling with guitar bands like I can’t ever remember that’s for sure.
On R*E*P*E*A*T’s return to Swansea after over 30 years away, they found their hometown to be far more diverse, creative, vibrant and exciting than the one they left behind. In no small part the cast extends further than just these bands but a much wider cabal of neerdowells and to be fair record shops and live music venues all helping sew their own piece on the patchwork tapestry that is Swansea.
The album is curated by an excited R*E*P*E*A*T and some of the favs over the last five years. You used to have to travel to Cardiff, London and beyond fo your fix but maybe it is now the time for Wales second city to stake its claim as Newport has always delivered venues and a scene. The likes of Trampolene, Monet, Swansea Sound, Rainyday Rainbow, Grey-FLX and Kikker all regularly play getting reviews, radios and stages way beyond our Westerly outpost.
Accompanying tracks by these trailblazing upstarts, the album also boasts rare or unreleased sounds by Helen Love, The Pooh Sticks and The DC10s but the albums Diamonds in the Dust goes to Baby Schillaci and their synth-droning post-punk slammer ‘Ultra HD Happy Face’ and of course Trampolene with the dreamy ‘Between The Bars’ but the top trump here goes to the mighty Kikker with their frantic ‘Trash’ which is majestic. But let’s not forget the lo-fi grunge of Dead Noize thrashing away towards the back end of this album.
The magic here is the diversity in the bands who all share stages together but the wealth of talent is much deeper. Congratulations to Repeat for putting this out there and anyone who reads a review and takes a chance and who knows, discovers their new favourite band. The album was released on May 31st on Swansea City coloured white and black splatter vinyl with a gatefold sleeve featuring an original painting of the City by local artist Fred Flitton. Lovely Ugly music from the finest city. Buy It!
It’s only May, yet it’s hard to keep count of the great albums released this year. As one of my favourite bands is King Salami, it’s no surprise that the debut from Martin Savage And The Jiggerz is up my street, featuring as it does the rhythm section of The Cumberland Three. The energy levels are similar, but this is twelve slices of barbed, garage rock.
‘Between The Lines’ races out of the starting blocks, like early Brian James. ‘On The Run’ doesn’t let up, veering close to the edge of the fretboard, complete with handclaps and police sirens. This, along with ‘Out Of This World’ is reminiscent of the great Larry Wallis, so, if that’s your bag, dive in. It sounds like the album was recorded in a day, a compliment in my opinion. “In, out, put the kettle on” as Monkfish used to say. And, indeed, much like ‘The Fast Show’, there’s no superfluous stuff here; fast, sharp, short songs that fly past.
‘Next In Line’ boogies at a now-expected frantic speed, and it’s on to ‘Eyes Of A Blind Man’ with no time to spare and some wailing harmonica. Put simply, if you like one song, you’ll like them all. ‘Fly By Night’ wouldn’t shame Johnny Thunders. Uncle Dom and I were saying only the other day that very few bands manage to pull off the ‘L.A.M.F’ sound convincingly, but this is an exception.
Single ‘Down The Line’ is slightly more laid back, before ‘Fast And Loose’ is exactly that. ‘On The Corner’ gives Wild Billy Childish a run for his money, and ‘Boomerang’ will hit you in the head.
What more do you want? If infectious, raucous garage rock is your thing, get your preorder in now.
Join us this week as we walk you through some pretty awesome tunes both old and new. Kicking off with a new song from Rich Ragany and his brand new solo album that’s released in a month but pre-sales are up now from his label Here
We delve back into the 80s for some Sea Hags and a track off their one and only self-titled album before we hit you with a brand new song off the soon-to-be-released Redd Kross double album! Yes Double. Pre Orders Here
We just keep giving. Try some Scandinavian Glunk in the shape of Leaded Fuel next before we offer some Ultrabomb who also have a new album on pre-sales.
Does anyone remember Electric Angels? well, we do and this is their Drinking Song the band was the springboard for Ryan Roxie who is currently playing with Alice Cooper. Fancy some cock Rock courtesy of CC from Poison? Hotshot did which is why we played a song from his project Samantha 7 with a track called ‘Framed’. We dug up a classic Fallen Angels track off that debut album because it’s one of those criminally underrated records that deserve to have more ears on it so here’s ‘Dagger In My Heart’.
In the 80s NYC dished up some sleazy rock n roll in the shape of Uncle Sam and a track off the ‘Heaven Or Hollywood’ record as we ‘Live For The Day’. Hotshot offers up Jizzy Pearls Love HAte and ‘Spinning Wheel’ which is quickly followed by the epic Warfare with ‘ Noise Filth and Fury’ that was the ultimate MEtal/punk crossover that paved the way for the likes of Midnight and they had a fan in Lemmy. So what’s not to like?
We heard of the recent passing of Jock from X-Ray Eyes so we played ‘Blind Sniper’ off the band’s latest release, Rest in Peace Jock.
Mo Bergs The Pursuit Of Happiness popped into my head earlier this week and I couldn’t get this banger out of my brain. ‘I’m An Adult Now’ is a stone wall classic. The Daniel James Gang offer some ‘Misery’ right from the sleazy side of the Replacements pocket and we love that, we also love some Indonesian Junk as well but they’re for a later episode so this banger will do for now.
We head into the home straight with a track off the RSD album from Dead Horse a band made up of a Damned, Sex Pistol, Generation X and twenty Flight Rocker that you should have picked up on RSD 2024 if you have any self respect, if not fear not we can sort you out with one of the tracks here.
Crazyhead released one of the singles ever and most definitely one of the best titled songs ever and we bring yo the original version from the 12″ not the overproduced album take which is still great but not as good as this version.
If you stick around with this episode we bring yo the mighty Scott Drake and a track called ‘Champagne On Ice’ a much underrated artist who is currently tearing it up with Guerrilla Teens a band you should also check out. We sign off Episode 27 with some Garage Rock from the awesome Suicide Generation and ‘Prisoner Of Love’ so until next time stay tuned and like-share-follow the RPM Online Podcast – It’s A Revolution
Now Steve Conte really caught my attention when he was drafted in to play guitar alongside Sylvain Sylvain in the Dolls and following that the solo career he was forging was all killer and no filler and even when he played in Michael Monroe band and wrote songs for someone as talented as Monroe to sing he couldn’t put a foot wrong it would seem. ‘Bronx Cheer’ was his last offering and to be fair I loved it I thought he had written some of his best material on that album and his vocals seemed to have been elevated to the next level as well. Fast forward a couple of years and after much social media jibber jabber about writing new material for another solo album I thought Conte can’t possibly top the last album but after running through this album for a couple of months I truly believe he’s mixed up his Rock album formula with a new found new wave pop seam and mined it to the maximum and taking a side step into some new territory works well and drafting in someone he really admires and holds in high regards a certain Andy Partridge from XTC is both interesting and unexpected but ultimately a fine move from the evidence of the co written tunes that make up the opening side of this album.
Clever clogs album title aside this might well prove to be Conte’s finest work to date which is no small feat for someone who has quite an impressive output over the last decade or so. Ian Hunter, Danko Jones, Steve Lillywhite, Nasty Suicide and Glen Matlock raise an eyebrow alongside several other impressive talents on show. The Melodies are constant and at every turn and the pop songs wear many outfits from bluesy rockers or more punky-edged songs Conte has covered all bases yet made a cohesive and truly wonderful album.
Ultimately Conte has evolved his repertoire and moved in another direction and quite possibly turned in his finest album thus far in an ever-impressive collection of mightily fine albums. Don’t just take my word for it check it out for yourself and immerse yourself in a fantastic album brimming with glorious songs where he goes from here, who knows, at this point, the world is his oyster and I’m happy to spend the next couple of years marvelling at ‘The Concrete Jangle’ my only complaint is it could have gone on and on, no should have gone on and on. Buy IT!
Norway’s finest have concocted another pure sonic assault, getting back to their roots musically while also looking forward and developing new aspects to their sound.
New album Negative Music has the ear splitting extreme metal tones you would expect but with a raw underlying punk rock energy and ethos. Thudding bass lines akin to west coast hardcore but with shrieking and tortured vocals reminiscent of 80s Deathrock while also sharing the band’s issues and social concerns relating to their upbringing and the musical scenes they have navigated.
Unrelenting and with absolutely no compromise, the black metal meets punk sound helps lend to a fresher more analogue sound to the record, getting away from the synthetic heavy metal pitfalls and tropes that can plague the genre but still remaining brutal.
Particular stand out tracks are ‘dead ringer’ and ‘the burning’, a throbbing assault to the senses with the potential to upset any next door neighbours.
In an industry and subculture that trades on shock value and over the top rorschach logo typography, Haust are refreshing due to their stripped down approach with their image, artwork and their level headed approach to interviews and promotion and as a result they’re a hell of a lot more approachable in their “scene”.
THE METEORS were formed way back in 1980 post punk explosion and pre UK 82 to be more precise. They’ve released about a million albums both studio, live and compilation albums since then and its quite an achievement that in 2024 they are still enthusiastic and motivated to keep writing and recording original music and to be fair making music as good if not better than they were doing back in the 80s. To be fair doing this Rock N Roll lark for that many years they should be half decent by now.
Preferring their songs to contain topics about vampires, graveyards and radioactive kids, P. Paul Fenech, still the bands leader and six-string slinger and songwriter has vocals that are distinctively gravel chewing, whisky and cigarette-induced rasp and perfect for this style of Rock n stomp.
With fourteen tracks being wedged onto this latest offering it’s uncompromising and sounds like The MEteors doing it their own way as you’d expect. The surf Rock guitar and minimal tub thumping drumming and subdued salamander stick slapping of that stand-up Bass. They might have paved the way and inspired a whole scene along with a couple of other stalwarts of the scene but they do carve their own path through the scene. ‘The Swampy ‘Blood Moon’ has some sweet guitar licks and very rhythmic drumming taking centre stage.
The title track has a wandering almost folk rhythm going on through its heart with a great arrangement and use of instruments, excellent stuff. Fourteen songs is a lot to get through but there is quite a bit of variety on the theme and whilst its not variety for the sake of it songs like ‘Murder Party’, dare I say it there is a more mature feel to these songs or it might be the more restrained production but you wouldn’t say that on the lyrics which constantly made me chuckle. If you’re looking for a high point then look no further than ‘The Rage’, and ‘The Devil Take Me Highway’ truly majestic slices of the genre, no question about it.
There are the obvious rockabilly, country, surf and rock’n’roll aesthetics. A sound woven by Paul Fenech’s rockin’ guitar and bile-spitting Beelzebub-rousing lyrics. ‘40 Days a Rotting’ proves once again that form is temporary and class is permanent and The Meteors are indeed class. Buy It!
A night when the old school garage rock grandmasters that are The Hives take young jedis in training out on tour to show them how it’s done by the best in the business and give them the leg up they deserve as they continue their upward trajectory to what can and should be a deserved seat at the top table.
Bad Nerves have been constantly touring and recording their second album then touring some more across the states they’re certainly not afraid of hard work and know that you have to go out and get every single sale and work for it. Tonight they strode onto the well-trodden boards of the great hall in Cardiff to a very healthy audience. They purposefully took up their stage positions and with an effortless cool, they exploded into ‘Don’t Stop’ and don’t look back for the next half hour.
With ‘Still Nervous’ getting its timely release at the end of this tour Bad Nerves have global domination in the pal of their hands. They’ve got the chops, tunes and attitude to one day go toe to toe with The Hives but at this point, they are the perfect Garage punks to open up this Rock n Roll show.
Bobby Bird leads the troops through a blistering set of well-worn in tunes and a couple of new ones. They look the part on the big stage and seem super comfortable pumping out their power pop punk anthems. It’s like all the vital ingredients for success and the right place at the right time but all that is immaterial if they don’t have the tunes but on tonight’s evidence they don’t have to worry on that front because the new songs are so strong. ‘USA’ is a vicious romp through the best power pop punk rock and with ‘You’ve Got The Nerve’ they have the punk rock authentic attitude to pull this off. As was pointed out by Mr H they have the songs like the mighty Cyanide Pills (who would be fantastic touring partners when they finish their stint with The Hives)
There was no fuckin about, no bullshit just Rock n Roll from top to bottom and Cardiff Uni had just been served up a lesson in how to open a show good and proper. Belting performance, catch em while you can Bad Nerves are going places.
After an impressive opener we readied ourselves for The Mighty Hives a band I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many times in many venues and this being their second time here after playing the smaller Yr Plas across the corridor two decades ago! Wow, Those twenty two years have flown by I’ve been lucky to see these Swedes play in front of 100,000 in Hyde Park and less than 1000 in Cardiff but the one thing I had on each occasion was a rock and roll show of the highest calibre. There aren’t many who can match the energy and drive of The Hives and that’s before we get to the arsenal of songs they have at their disposal. they treat each performance the same be it in the tiny Fleece in Bristol or a football stadium or a students union The hives put on a show and every night is nothing short of 100% they leave nothing on the stage when they leave except a puddle of sweat and an audience of beaming smiles on sweaty faces leaving knowing they’ve seen one of the best garage rock bands anywhere on the planet.
From the opening of ‘Bogus Operandi’ through the hits like ‘Main Offender’ or ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ the energy is incredible only matched by the quality of the music. In Howlin Pelle they have an exceptional frontman who has every audience eating from the palm of his hand from the moment he steps on the stage but he is enabled by an incredible band none more so than his brother Nicholaus who doesn’t stop making eye contact and moving like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Its a magnificent performance and the levels they reach are second to none be it old classics like ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’ to new songs of the Death Of album that peaked with ‘Trapdoor Solution’ or who cares they’re all spectacular and there can’t be single person wedged into this room who left disappointed with the garage rock majesty that is the Hives.
After seventy five minutes its a brief encore before a devastating one two three of ‘Come On’, ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ and ‘Tick Tick Boom’ and we’re done. Another magnificent evening with the Hives. Lets do it again same time same place next year. Simply magnificent!
The European release of The Unknowns second album, released on Bargain Bin Records in Australia is now out on Drunken Sailor Records in the UK.
The recently expanded four-piece has been bolstered by the addition of The Chats’ Eamon Sandwith on guitar, sees this Brisbane no-nonsense punk release their no frills just business album ‘East Coast Low’. It is not rocket science, it’s punk rock and it’s top-notch punk rock. It manages to draw from some pretty catchy pop tunes and collide it with ragged punk rock Aussie style it has the spirit of The Saints mashed up with The Ramones. It’s energetic, melodic, catchy and bang on the fucking money.
It all kicks off with the infectious big riff-a-rama of ‘Shot Down’. Its snotty, raw and bouncing with attitude. It’s the new school rockin the old school and has a ripping guitar break that’s not flash but spot on. You wont have to play it over and over to join in with the chorus but you’ll be on the bed with the tennis racket ripping out the solo before getting all sweaty with the feedback as the song crashes and burns. However, ‘Dianne’ is like the Dead Boys tipping up with a Ramones Chord book and a bunch of 77 choruses. Perfect!
Its not reinventing the wheel but its cruising along with the tool our forefathers left behind its thunder meets Dee Dee meets the Boys and of Course The Saints and threw them all in the back seat and went cruising round for a killer house party to crash. Garage punk, power pop, and straight-up rock n’ roll its all sewn into the rich tapestry that The Unknowns deliver.
‘East Coast Low’ is ten tracks of anthemic sing-along punk rock n roll and don’t worry about it dragging on it clocks in well under half an hour and is a no brainer if you are looking for a fix of snotty punk n roll done with a carefree attitude ‘Thinking About You’, and ‘I Don’t Know’ and ‘Beat Me’ are full of dumb fun and who doesn’t like that? Its like The Ramones never happened.
We’ve written about Australian Punk Rock and we’ll write about it again right here right now. Punk Rock is in safe hands with them folk down under they sure can rock n roll they do it just about better than most folks do you can now say that The Unknowns are going to come steaming to the front and centre of the cool kids looking for their next fix of sunshine, beer-swilling punk rockers The album crashes and burns with the blinding ‘Supersonic Love’ if AC/DC had grown up on the Ramones and Stooges and had short hair they could have sounded this good. Remember the name kids ‘East Coast Low’ is the Unknowns aiming high and on this evidence they’ve got every chance of success because they certainly got the chops, Buy It!
Recent Comments