Various Artists – ‘You Wanna Know What It’s Like?’ (Desert Inn Records)

Various Artists – ‘You Wanna Know What It’s Like?’ (Desert Inn Records)

 

Albert wrote the following. but I’d like to say ignore his last sentence if you can, please do make a donation no matter how small, every penny counts as they say but obviously if you don’t have the spare dosh then do take up his free offer.

In these trying times some people need more help than others and if you can help please do you know it makes sense.  Besides look what you get in return, Twenty Four fantastic covers  Get on it cool kids and spread the word.

“Long story cut short.
About 20 years ago, I started working on a tribute album to the Hollywood Brats and The Boys. If you’re reading this, you already know what these two legendary bands had in common…Casino Steel! And a few amazing songs. And bad luck. They never achieved the success they deserved, but found a place in the heart of any true lover of rock’n’roll music.
I contacted some of my favourite bands around the world, who I knew were huge fans of the Brats & the Boys, and they recorded some amazing versions of those classic songs. The tribute album never came out at the time (sorry guys!) and remained shelved for almost 20 years.
Fast forward to 2020…the world is in lockdown because of the Corona virus disease. About time to release this goddamn tribute and let people have a good time listening to some great music while in isolation!
All the 24 songs were recorded specifically for this project. You might have heard some of them over the years, as a few bands used them as b-sides or included them in other releases. But most of them have remained unreleased until now. So here it is. Better late than never, I guess. The good news is that it’s absolutely FREE. Bandcamp allows 200 free downloads each month, so first come first served.
You also have the option to pay whatever you want”

Right, let’s dig into this bad boy.  First up is the magnificent talent of Jeff Dahl and a rocket-fuelled ‘Chez Maximes’.  It’s snotty and sets the tone as it blasts off first out the traps, follow that everyone. Blimey, Some bands I’ve obviously heard of and some that are new to me as well as some I’d forgotten about.  ‘USI’ complete with Cass like piano plonk courtesy of The Turpentines is a band that clearly got the remit and duly obliged in sending in their dirty punky pop n roll.

Oh man, Beat Angels taking on ‘Terminal Love’ is worth a few quid of anyones money.  I loved Beat Angels they like the Boys should have been huge and they clearly get what this cracking Honest John number is all about. I wasn’t going to mention every band but as the songs unfold I’m feeling guilty for not mentioning this one or that one and Sour Jazz knock out a beautiful ‘Zurich 17’ the vocals work really well and the sleazy guitars walking all over the song is blissful.  Of course Gyp Casino & the Honest Brats were going to totally get ‘TCP’ that was a given wasn’t it? The Alley Gators show Backyard Babies how the sleazy Rock n Roll should be done with their rip snorting take on ‘I Don’t Care’.

 

They might not be household names taking on the tunes but boy do they get it whatever it is you know that X Factor that these songs possess from the insane melody of ‘Soda Pressing’ that Hundred Million Martians clearly believed in followed by those Streetwalkin Cheetahs and their ‘Kamikaze’.  Thee STP goes full trash on ‘Tumble With Me’.  It’s fair to say that nobody tries to be clever and totally recreate one of these classic songs with a nu metal or rap version and some are better than others but the one thing that does shine through is how bloody good the songs are.  ‘First Time’ is a perfect slice of chart worthy Rock and Roll and hearing The Bullys romp through ‘No Money’ is a blast.

Highschool Hellcats take ‘Classified Susie’ back to school and rock the fuck out.  Bastet turn their amps up for a belter of ‘Brickfield Nights’ is it possible to have too much cowbell?  Nah didn’t think so either. I have to admit that Aerobitch turn in the sleaziest cover of the lot with their full throttle ‘Neighbourhood Brat’ and its great to hear Freddy Lynx with a beautiful rendition of ‘Heroine’

I’m glad to see that there aren’t multiple takes of ‘Brickfield’ or ‘Terminal Love’ and bands were brave enough to take on classics like ‘Living In The City’ and its fitting and the perfect sign off for Trash Brats to nail ‘Sick On You’ which is where it signs off.  What a blast, one of the best compilations I’ve had the pleasure of and being a massive Boys fan its a big deal to hear so many bands paying tribute to one of the best bands out there.  Now all that’s left to say is please give generously (if you can) and enjoy the songs Stay safe kids and turn up that Rock and Roll oh and how about pressing this up on a couple of sweet albums? I’d get one

ALL THE PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE ITALIAN RED CROSS. https://www.cri.it/home

Buy the album Here

Author: Dom Daley

American Jetset stream new album

American Jetset stream new album

US Rock n Roll Band, AMERICAN JETSET, have released their first full lenght album ‘Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop‘ back in February 2020. The album can be streamed here.

The album is produced and mixed by Scott Spelbring (KIX). Mastered by Ian Kaine MacGregor.

After decades of candy-coated pop, vanilla indie, and corporate rap, a new generation of Rock & Roll has emerged. The hysteria spurred by Greta van fleet, Rival Sons, and The Struts has reached a fever pitch and rock fans are dying for more.

Enter AMERICAN JETSET. Channeling the heroes of the 1980s Sunset Strip era, the Jetset boys are direct descendants of those sleeping giants, and their anthemic hooks and animated live show have been turning heads from Charm City to Hollywood.

 

The acoustic sing-along is one of the album’s finest compositions. It features the gorgeous, glowing background vocals of Christina Oliviero before the band rides off into the sunset, vowing to return someday. Mission accomplished. – Sleaze Roxx

American Jetset crashed into my world over a year ago because of their great songs, and this release shows that they were not a one-trick pony. Pick up this album and prepare to sing your butt off while these songs remind you of how good music can make you feel. – RPM Online

AMERICAN JETSET is:

Ian Kaine MacGregor – Vocals, Guitars
Lance Reeder – Lead Guitar
Kevin Harrington – Bass
Jeff Bradford – Drums

With an impressive EP, the band continued their rise in 2019. They went to California and back supporting Tom Keifer of Cinderella, Jack Russell’s Great White, Faster Pussycat, Living Colour, LA Guns, and a sold-out hometown performance with Slaughter. Will Greenberg of Will to Rock Magazine wrote “Every now and then a new band pops up on your radar that has that extra something AMERICAN JETSET have those intangibles. If they keep making the same kick-ass music that they’ve included on their debut, the sky is the limit.”

AMERICAN JETSET is back in the saddle in 2020 with their sophomore release Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop, and the record is a killer collection of no frills rock & roll the way it’s meant to be played. From the swagger of “Walking Contradiction” to the country-tinged “Getaway Car” to the unbridled stomp of “1000 Ghosts”, AMERICAN JETSET never pulls back on the reins. Jeff Onorato of Sleaze Roxx Magazine said “I was blown away by what I heard. The Sunset Strip era of hard rock is one of my favorites and they had resurrected that sound in a way that I hadn’t heard in quite some time.”

AMERICAN JETSET’s 2020 tour will take them coast-to-coast supporting Jack Russell’s Great White, Enuff Z’Nuff, Kix, Charm City Devils, Blackfoot, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Get ready, Monsters…you tell ’em they’re coming and Hell’s coming with ‘em!

www.americanjetset.com
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JIZZY PEARL’S LOVE/HATE sign to GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS

JIZZY PEARL’S LOVE/HATE sign to GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS

JIZZY PEARL has been a fixture on the world-famous Hollywood Sunset Strip since his edgy street rock band LOVE/HATE released their debut album Blackout In The Red Room in 1990. Blackout In The Red Room received Best Record of the Year honours from Kerrang! and Metal Hammer in addition to being a fan and critics favourite.

It established LOVE/HATE as genuine Hollywood rock superstars, and they developed a strong cult following. Their second record Wasted In America followed in 1992, and the band hit the road with the likes of SKID ROW, DIO, AC/DC and OZZY OSBOURNE!

Since then Jizzy has played, recorded and toured with platinum artists like RATT and L.A. GUNS, including a stint with Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler in ADLER’S APPETITE, whilst currently fronting the legendary Quiet Riot. Jizzy has also released several critically acclaimed solo albums, the most recent being 2018’s ‘All You Need Is Soul’ on Frontiers Records. 

The legacy continues in 2020 with JIZZY PEARL’S LOVE/HATE who this year have been touring the 30th anniversary of BLACKOUT IN THE RED ROOM playing the iconic album in full.

Jizzy and his band are sounding better than ever and Golden Robot Records (part of the Golden Robot Global Entertainment Group) are extremely honoured to be the new home of a Hollywood Rock icon like Jizzy Pearl. Jizzy’s global fanbase can look forward to some scintillating new music in 2020.

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Naked Six – ‘Lost Art Of Conversation’ (Silver Lining Music)

Naked Six – ‘Lost Art Of Conversation’ (Silver Lining Music)

Seb Byford (guitar/vocals) and Tom Witts (drums) formed Naked Six while still at school to a backdrop of fog and mist on the North Yorkshire moors. The self-proclaimed grunge/schizoid blues band have been on our rock ‘n’ roll radar for a number of years following gigs with the likes of The Virginmarys and The Temperance Movement. Originally a York based band they recently relocated to Manchester, following the release of their debut EP ‘No Compromise’. They then roped in Tom’s cousin Callum to play bass, and now the three piece band are ready to take on the world with their debut album ‘Lost Art Of Conversation’.

They may be a long way from Seattle and a generation after the Grunge movement, but that same feeling of isolation, working class struggle and small town angst is omnipresent in their sound and high energy live performance.

 

Naked Six specialise in 2 chord/2 minute blasts of high energy angst, delivered with the passion of newbies who have something to prove and yet the confidence of seasoned pros. A top notch production job courtesy of Thomas Mitchener (Gallows/Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes ) only helps to capture their live energy. Urgent beats, buzzsaw guitars and vocals are spat with the aggro nonchalance of young punks who have something to say. And yeah, Naked Six do have something to say, lyrically they touch on highly topical subjects; our reliance on social media and mental health for starters.

The likes of ‘Song Of The City’, ‘Split’ and ‘Sticky Gum’ are their bread and butter. Coming on like The Vines meets The Virginmarys, this is the sound of a Naked Six gig captured on wax for all to experience. Elsewhere, if you had told me ‘Poison Apple’ was a lost Nirvana outtake, I would’ve tipped my hat in agreement. From the erratic spiky guitars to the spooky Cobain/Grohl style vocal harmonies, its quality stuff.

They take things down for a more 90s art rock, tripped-out vibe with ‘The Change’. Offbeat drums and effect-ridden guitars bring to mind the sonic sound of Perry Farrell’s side project Porno For Pyros, as the band take the listener on a trip to another plane.

Bouncy, distorted bass and jagged guitars introduce first single ‘Gimme Something’, a song that confirms the Foo Fighters meets Royal Blood comparisons I have used in the past. A confident and cocksure sound, and one that’s tried and tested.

 

While Naked Six promote a grungy, garage rock sound, there are hints that this band has the potential to be so much more when they think outside the box (or garage in this case!). The album is bookended by a couple of surprise tracks that confirm this for me. Album opener ‘21st Century Brawl’ is an atmospheric art piece, coming on like Jane’s Addiction in their prime, as Seb reels off descriptive lyrics, almost spoken word, over an alt rock backdrop of groovy bass and guitar harmonics. In complete contrast the introspective album closer ‘Outside Looking In’ showcases what this band is truly capable of. As they have proven in the past with ‘Broken Fairytale’, Seb Byford has a knack for penning heartfelt balladry as much as he does angst driven rock. The sentiment is real, as he delivers his most fragile, yet strongest vocal of the album over understated piano chords and atmospheric saxophone breaks. A winning combination that only helps accentuate the overall emotion of the song.

 

With lyrics that deal in social commentary, questioning our attachment to our screens, our actions and motives, and music that harks back to a time when the alternative was mainstream, edgy and downright essential, Naked Six seem to be on to a winner. ‘Lost Art Of Conversation’ is a modern rock record that is exciting, authentic and comes at the perfect time.

Times they are a changing, and while this album was of course written pre-lockdown, I can’t help but think the lost art of conversation is something a great deal of us are re-learning right now due to isolation and social media being our only form of communication.

“This is the dawn of a new age…” announces the singer in the title track. I wonder, did Seb Byford know how true those words would ring just a few months later?

Buy ‘Lost Art Of Conversation’ Here

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Author: Ben Hughes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dictator Ship – ‘Your Favorites’ (The Sign Records)

Dictator Ship – ‘Your Favorites’ (The Sign Records)
I have to admit to knowing bugger all about Dictator Ship apart from they’re Swedish (of course) and they play Action Rock. But this ain’t you’re usual foot-to-the-floor “Super Shitty…..” stuff, this is an altogether more soulful proposition with a cool 70’s Paul Rodgers meets David Coverdale (proper 70’s / early 80’s Cov) vocal vibe. Turned on? I am!

 

“Your Favourites” has a vintage lo-fi feel, just like the proper albums that you nicked out of your cool uncle’s stash of vinyl when you were a kid. So let me grab you by the hand and take you through “Your Favourites” and see if it does exactly what it says on the tin.

 

Kicking off with “ In the Heat of the Night”. As you listen, you can imagine the band huddled around a couple of live mikes in a secluded Swedish cabin blasting out their own brand of gutter-level Action-soul. The lead vocals sound shared across the band and together they produce one hell of a sweet sound. This bad boy has groove to spare.

Next up is “Savage”, which boasts a video all of its own. The music is frantic, but the cool vocals pull it all together sweetly. It’s MC5 meets Jesus Christ Superstar!

“Good Thing Gone Bad” is early Purple without the screaming and throbbing organ, while “ Just for Fun” has a fast and frantic hook that demands repeated plays. The guitar sounds proper live…. and it probably was.

“Eat the Poor” justifiably also gets a video of its own, all be it a static “picture of the cover” affair. Never the less, it’s a cool tune with an even cooler title. There’s a kind of familiarity to the hook, it swaggers along in an early ‘Snake kind of way. Your gonna tell me it’s a cover, aren’t you? It’s that good!

“Gunner Man” has its feet planted firmly in the twilight of the ’60s. Musically frantic but with a laid back verse vocal holding it down before an explosive chorus.

 

Closing out this seven-track soul sensation is “From the Womb to the Tomb” and it doesn’t let up or disappoint. Full on and butt-kicking. Your head can’t help but put a Hammond over the top of this bad boy and suddenly you’re mentally jamming with the band. Fuck this is good !!

 

I’d like to tell you to go out and buy this bad boy now but given the current circumstances, we find ourselves in, order it from one of these lovely internet fellas and let your brave postie do all the hard work.

 

Pre-order your physical copy here:Sweden / UK / Germany / USA

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Author: Fraser Munro

DOOL – ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SUMMERLAND’

DOOL – ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘SUMMERLAND’
RELEASED 10TH APRIL (PROPHESY PRODUCTIONS) / LISTEN TO ’SULPHUR & STARLIGHT’
“Sulphur & Starlight” is a song about dualism. The reflection and the reflected, two sides of the same mirror. What is left of one Self in the eye of the Other and vice versa? It is the opening track of “Summerland” and makes a great starting point for the journey through the album’s theme.’  – Ryanne van Dorst (singer, guitarist, songwriter, lyricist)

Founded in 2015 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a name derived from the Dutch word for “wandering,” dark rockers Dool embarked on an ongoing spiritual and musical journey that took them far within a short amount of time on the strength of just one album. However, hearing the sophomore “Summerland,” you can’t help but think its successful predecessor (ranked #13 among the “Best 100 Albums Of The New Millennium” by German magazine Rock Hard) was just a warm-up.
 
“Our debut ‘Here Now, There Then’ was a big experiment because we could not foresee at all how the band would sound,” reveals singer, guitarist and overall powerhouse Ryanne van Dorst. “I took the skeletons of songs I had written to the other members, and we just started to jam, seeing what would happen. That was what we recorded, but we only found our own style while playing gigs during the last few years. The material kept growing on stage, so on the “Love Like Blood” EP, you could already hear that we had become more confident.”
 
“Summerland” encapsulates the meaning behind the quintet’s monicker. Expansive and more varied on all fronts, it represents the constant evolution that goes along with the soul’s quest for ascension, resulting in a bedazzling mix of classic and post rock, Midde Eastern flourishes, psychedelia and metal. Each track displays its own identity within a loose thematic frame as summarized in the climactic title track: the struggle to find a place in this world, reaching some ultimate state mind, ecstatic pleasure and reincarnation, also inspired by Richard Matheson’s novel “What Dreams May Come” as a modern take on the Biblical cycles of hell.
 
“The term ‘summerland’ comes from paganism and refers to heaven, nirvana or whatever else you’d like to call it,” the lyricist explains. “Since I usually write from experience and about what keeps me awake at night, I was asking myself what makes me happy on this existential plane and how the ideal afterlife would look like. This became a recurring motif throughout the lyrics in the shapes of sex, magic, psychedelics and many other means to invoke this ‘summerland’ in the here and now.”
 
The group recorded “Summerland” at DAFT Studios in Malmédy, Belgium, and Studio Cobra in Stockholm, Sweden, with Martin Ehrencrona (Tribulation, In Solitude). Mix and mastering were handled by Cult Of Luna’s drummer Magnus Lindberg in Redmount Studio Stockholm. As guests, Dool invited Per Wiberg (Opeth, Spiritual Beggars, Candlemass) on Hammond organ, backing vocalist Farida Lemouchi (The Devil’s Blood) and Okoi Jones (Bölzer), who contributed spoken words to ‘The Well’s Run Dry’.
 
After taking Europe by storm, Dool keep following their path to world domination with seven-mile boots, doing what they do best – devastating venues with their energetic performance, which, as Ryanne promises, “will look a bit bigger in every respect …”
 
“Summerland” is available as Digipak CD, 2CD artbook (hardcover with golden hotfoil embossment, 30x30cm, with expanded artwork and two bonus tracks; 1.000 copies available), gatefold 2LP (180g, black and ltd. coloured vinyl) and complete box set (incl. 2CD artbook, gatefold 2LP with exclusive colour, bonus 12″, music box and two posters; 1.000 copies available).
 
Pre-order – Here

Upcoming Tour Dates: 
 
April
17 – Roadburn Fest / 013 main stage / Tilburg / NL
23 – Junkyard / Dortmund / DE
24 – MS Connexion Complex / Mannheim / DE
25 – Dynamo (festival) / Zurich / CH
26 – Le Grillen / Colmar / FR
28 – Caracol / Madrid / ES
29 – Boveda / Barcelona / ES
30 – Le Rex / Toulouse / FR
 
May
01 – Backstage / Paris / FR
02 – Headbanger’s Ball Fest / Izegem / BE
03 – Club Zentral / Stuttgart / DE
05 – Backstage / Munchen / DE
06 – Viper Room / Vienna / AT
07 – Modra Vopice / Prague / CZ
08 – Hellraiser / Leipzig / DE
09 – Nuke Club / Berlin / DE
10 – MarX / Hamburg / DE
21 – Doornroosje / Nijmegen / NL
22 – De Helling / Utrecht / NL
23 – Sniester Fest-Paard (grote zaal)/ Den Haag / NL
28 – Patronaat / Haarlem / NL
29 – Metropool / Hengelo / NL
30 – Vera / Groningen / NL
 
June
19 – Graspop Metal Meeting / Dessel / BE
 
July
09 – In Flammen Fest / Torgau / DE
18 – Welcome to the Village Fest / Leeuwarden / NL
 
https://allthosewhowanderaredool.com/
https://www.facebook.com/allthosewhowanderaredool/
https://www.instagram.com/allthosewhowanderaredool/

The Quireboys set to release newly recorded classic debut album

The Quireboys set to release newly recorded classic debut album

The Quireboys set to release a Limited Run of a totally new Re-Recorded version of A Bit Of What You Fancy to mark the albums 30th Anniversary

 

We may be at home, it may be dark times, but that hard-working quartet are back in the studio re-recording their iconic first album with the current Gypsy Rock n Roll sound of The Quireboys. The new recording will prove to be powerful, inspirational and full of all the quality a modern-day recording can anticipate.

This is a must for all Quireboys fans worldwide and while this will be available on CD & Vinyl, both will be on limited runs, with a new modern cover and a couple of live bonus tracks on the CD.

The CD will feature 2 Live Bonus Tracks, “Man on the Loose” and “Mayfair” while the Vinyl Collector’s item will be restricted to a run of 750 copies only, in Blue Vinyl.

Both 30th Anniversary Collector’s items are on sale now Here…

The Quireboys will tour the UK and Europe Dec 20 / April 21 performing the whole album in its entirety. Dates will be announced soon.

Quireboys frontman Spike commented, “It’s where it all began, it was an incredible album that launched our careers, but the way we sound n play now doesn’t give it the justice it needs. Henceforth, it’s been a pleasure updating it to our modern day Gypsy Rock n Roll Sound. I’m sure everyone will enjoy this new version in all its glory, marking its 30th Anniversary.”

 

Lusitanian Ghosts – ‘Lusitanian Ghosts’ (Lusitanian Music Publishing)

Lusitanian Ghosts – ‘Lusitanian Ghosts’ (Lusitanian Music Publishing)

The self-titled album from Lusitanian Ghosts is a rock ‘n’ roll experience of a different kind. The Deluxe Edition was released late last year and has just made its way to my door. This musical collective features Neil Leyton, who will be well known to many of the readers here, having previously worked with a wide range of rockers from The Dogs D’amour to Ginger. He also, of course, has his own glittering career, which has also seen contributions from rock royalty such as the Backyard Babies. Leyton is a man of many talents, and I personally remember him from the much-missed Changes One record label days, where we used to have the odd chat over email. A lot of time has passed since then and I must admit to having fallen out of the loop for a while. And from what I can gather this is his first full album of original material since 2010’s The Betrayal of the Self. As I have said, however, this is a collective and more than the work of one man – and with it comes an entirely new sound, interestingly making use of traditional chordophone instruments: guitar-like, stringed instruments which also includes the lutes or lyres that we may often see accompanying Shakespeare plays. The group includes Micke Ghost, João Sousa, Omiri, O Gajo, members of Primitive Reason and other artists.

This new Portuguese musical project utilises these instruments in a more modern way, mixing a blend of traditional and rock ‘n’ roll sounds. It’s an inspiring, folk/rock mix which needs to be heard to be understood. The album kicks off with a short acoustic folk affair, with the breezy ‘A Long Time Ago…’, which sets out the attitude of the album before heading into the more rocking ‘The World’. While I’m hesitant to draw a lazy comparison to Santana, this opening of this song certainly bears that resemblance, particularly with the fat, smooth tone of the electric guitar over the acoustic arrangement. The album itself doesn’t bear out the comparison. Being such a creative project, the Lusitanian Ghosts album takes many twists and turns while always maintaining a very singular thread throughout – a constant traditional sound underlying it. The light indie sounds of the flowing ‘Trailer Park Memories’, or the rousing chorus of ‘Past Laurels’ with its singalong of ‘we are the truth to power’, mark for an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable album. While personally other highlights include ‘Godspeed to You’, the Bowie-esque ‘Memories of a Once Familiar Future’ or the great ‘Our Own Light’, there is no filler here, as every song serves to support the next. Interestingly, alongside the album is a release of a documentary which explores the history of these wonderful traditional instruments which are used to craft this most interesting of records. Watching that is the next thing on my to-do list. Meanwhile, listening to this, it is certainly good to have Leyton back recording, and with such strong material.

 

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Author: Craggy Collyde

The City Kids – ‘Things That Never Were’ (Very Fried Artists)

The City Kids – ‘Things That Never Were’ (Very Fried Artists)

Picture the scene; You’re the guitar player in a cool punk n roll band with a member of The Wildhearts, you release a well-received mini-album, a couple of singles, do a bunch of great support gigs with cool bands, even some great headline shows of your own. Things are looking up. Then The Wildhearts reform, your singer/bass player goes back to said band (quite rightly) to take on the world and record one of the greatest rock albums of the last decade, leaving your little band in hiatus. The drummer and guitar player form a cool as fuck pop-punk band called The Spangles and you’re left twiddling your bleedin’ thumbs until they’ve got it all out of their system.

Well, we may not have The Main Grains anymore, but that loveable rogue JJ Watt is back from the ashes with a new band and he’s only gone and roped in the likes of Kory Clarke and Tracii Guns to guest on his new project The City Kids (no, not the long gone, Cardiff based glam legends, how many times do I have to tell ya?!)

 

Joining JJ are guitarist Dennis Post (Warrior Soul/Flush The Fashion), Berty Burton (Tigertailz) and Dave Sanders (Falling Red). The City Kids follow the recent single release ‘Best Of You’ with their debut album ‘Things That Never Were’. Self-produced and mastered by the legend that is Dave Draper, ‘Things That Never Were’ is a collection of songs and ideas penned by the guitar player when he was still in The Main Grains. In fact, the overly catchy ‘You Get Nothing’ was a live favourite in their set.

You could say The City Kids sound is no real departure from JJ’s previous band. If anything the sound is rawer, the vocals dirtier, but the melody is still prevalent throughout. This is gritty rock ‘n’ roll with a sound that sits somewhere between Social Distortion and The Yo-Yos.

‘Best Of You’ opens the album in style with a Ramones style “one-two-free-four” count in and a blistering guitar lick. Dirty biker rock is the order of the day, JJ’s vocals as gritty as the guitars are dirty. Fat, ringing power chords fill the verse as it powers to an anthemic and upbeat chorus. A sonic guitar solo that would make Dregen proud and a Wildhearts styled mid-song breakdown gives you a hint where these guys are coming from and where the rest of the album will be taking us.

 

It’s no surprise the aforementioned ‘You Get Nothing’ was a Main Grains live staple. That chorus refrain is a banger, and hearing a recorded version finally does it justice. At 2 minutes 30 seconds, it’s over in a flash leaving the listener crying out for more.

And much more they give us. Mid-paced rockers such as ‘Before You Fall’ and ‘All I Want’ are all well and good, the latter taken to another level with some blistering fretwork courtesy of LA Guns guitar slinger Tracii Guns. Elsewhere, ‘No More Heroes’ is a catchy, radio-friendly slice of power pop with a punky edge, think The Replacements meets Social Distortion for reference here.

There are a couple of true standout tracks. ‘Rats’ is a killer, trashy ride featuring Billy Tee and Alex Holmes from The Suicide Notes. Their delivery adds a certain sleaziness that gives an edgy, Faster Pussycat meets Backyard Babies feel. The guitars are slung around the knees, the gang vocals spat with venom. This one is a whole lotta fun, as is album closer ‘Round And (A) Round’. A song that was co-written with Warrior Soul legend Kory Clarke and features the man himself sharing lead vocals with JJ, along with those The Suicide Notes dudes, yet again adding gang vocal goodness for the chorus. This is a killer, no-frills anthem. Upbeat, punk and belligerent just as you would expect. Kory’s unmistakable raspy vocals are on fine form and it pretty much sums up the whole feel of the album.

 

If you like your music, loud, proud and raw as fuck, if you like your rock with some dirt under the fingernails and extra power under the hood, then you could do no better than check out this new long-player from The City Kids.

The limited-edition 2 CD version of ‘Things That Never Were’ sold out in just 5 hours, but you can pre-order the extremely unlimited standard CD from the link below right now.

Buy ‘The Things That Never Were’ Here

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Author: Ben Hughes