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FRANK BLACK AND THE CATHOLICS – THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS vinyl boxset for July release

FRANK BLACK AND THE CATHOLICS – THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS vinyl boxset for July release

FRANK BLACK AND THE CATHOLICS

THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS

vinyl box set  

released 8th July 2022 

On 8th July Demon release Frank Black and The Catholics – The Complete Studio Albums box set. This superb box set includes 3 albums never before available on vinyl. Between 1998 and 2003, Frank Black and co. released six albums under the ‘Frank Black And The Catholics’ moniker. All recorded live and direct to two-track tape, the albums are some of the most energised, raw, and essential of Frank Black’s career.

 
For almost two decades, the Catholics’ studio albums have been out of print or unavailable on vinyl. Now, Demon Records is proud to present ‘The Complete Studio Albums’ boxset featuring all six original releases expertly remastered from the original studio tapes and pressed on heavyweight 180g clear vinyl. 

Includes all six studio albums –

‘Frank Black And The Catholics’ (1998), ‘Pistolero’ (1999), ‘Dog In The Sand’ (2001) [first time on vinyl], ‘Black Letter Days’ (2002) [2LP, first time on vinyl] ‘Devil’s Workshop’ (2002) [first time on vinyl], and ‘Show Me Your Tears’ (2003). 

Each album is pressed on 180g clear vinyl and housed in printed inner sleeves along with outer sleeves featuring spot gloss detailing. All 80 tracks have been newly remastered from the original studio tapes by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR.

 
The albums are housed together in a rigid outer sleeve and accompanied by a 32-page booklet featuring new liner notes by Catholics producer/engineer Ben Mumphrey plus unseen and rare photographs by Steve Gullick. 

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The Mysterines – ‘Reeling’ (Fiction Records)

The Mysterines – ‘Reeling’ (Fiction Records)

The long awaited debut album from Merseyside titans in the making, The Mysterines! ‘Reeling’ is an apt title for the group, as anyone who has seen the band will know how effortlessly these guys reel off stellar material.


Kicking us all off with stomper ‘life is a bitch(but I like it so much)’ and followed up with the pummelling blow that is ‘Hung Up’. Already it’s clear that they have managed to recreate their live sound on this record, showcasing the power and intensity and losing nothing with any of the studio sheen.


Things slow down with the title track ‘reeling’ but with no loss of the intensity with the killer bass-led track. By the time we get to the previous single ‘Dangerous’, it’s practically a feeding frenzy for the listener, hitting Southern Gothic levels in terms of murder ballads, the delivery akin to PJ Harvey fronting Qotsa when they still sounded good.


My only criticism is at 13 tracks the record can seem a little bit long, but on the whole, the stronger material gives brooding shade and depth to the whole record making the whole event an experience to guarantee repeat listening.


Playling to packed out crowds on tour, big American festival dates in the diary, a top ten placing on the album charts (at time of writing), things are certainly looking up for the Mysterines and the future is very bright. 

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Author: Dan Kasm

Swami John Reis – ‘Ride The Wild Night’ (Swami Records)

Swami John Reis – ‘Ride The Wild Night’ (Swami Records)

It was only the other day that I was listening to Rocket From The Crypt in the car. Shortly after, who should recommend the new solo album by Speedo/John Reis but our very own Mr Hayward. After listening on Spotify, I duly ordered the vinyl (no CD yet). It’s a no-brainer to any RFTC fans that this is a worthy purchase. From the first song, I was hooked. There’s a Liamesque delivery to the title track, but Mr Gallagher can’t hold a candle to these tunes. And, believe me, this album is packed with tunes.

‘I Ain’t Your Pawn’ struts like Jim Jones with guitar and piano hammering out the riff. It would be a shame if Reis didn’t play some gigs to support this release. ‘Do You Still Wanna Make Out?’, with its “shoo-wop” backing vocals and insistent rhythm would give Giuda a run for their money.

‘When I Kicked Him In The Face’ starts with a picked riff reminiscent of Elliott Smith, before launching into more familiar territory. ‘Days Of Auld Lang Syne’ ends side one with a breezy piano led tune with a reflective lyric.

‘I Hate My Neighbours In The Yellow House’ starts with a synth before the guitars kick in. While there’s a variety of songs here, it always sounds reassuringly like John Reis. ‘Vape In The Dark Alone’ is more akin to ‘Group Sounds’ with its sinister melody.

‘Rip From The Bone’ is killer, it makes you want to pick up the guitar and play along, head nodding. Simple and devastatingly effective. “We don’t see eye to eye, said the spider to the fly”. ‘We Broke The News’ is equally addictive, and ‘Keeper Of The Plains’ is a classy note to end on. As you’d expect. And it’s on transparent, mouthwash green vinyl. What are you waiting for?

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Author: Martin Chamarette

The Good, The Bad & The Zugly – ‘Research And Destroy’ (Fysisk Format)

The Good, The Bad & The Zugly – ‘Research And Destroy’ (Fysisk Format)

The one and only time I saw GBZ was in a London pub basement a touch over six years ago and they blew the place a part. Then they were pushing their second and possibly finest album Hadeland Hardcore and as fantastic as they were that night, no one in that room would ever have thought that the press release for album number five, Research And Destroy would begin –

“The NEW ALBUM from the Kings of Scandipunk! Fronted by singer Ivar Nikolaisen from KVELERTAK!! “

It’s just bonkers!!!

These Norwegian punk rock terrors’ sound snuggles somewhere in the same ball park as fellow country men Turbonegro (both bands feature ex-members of Norwegian glamsters Silver) but with a far more aggressive and abrasive edge. Perhaps with album number five some of this jagged, raw hate has been polished away to appeal to the Kvelertak fan base, it’s still hard and heavy but maybe not as raw and hungry as the aforementioned  Hadeland Hardcore or even it’s follow up Misanthropical House but it’s still a fine12” slab of plastic that’ll sit deservedly in your top ten of 2022.

First up ‘What’s My Rage Again?’ Spends a good minute building up and up and up in full metal guitar grandeur before launching into a spite-filled bombastic banger. Maybe it gets a bit Maiden-esque in places but it’s a great place to start.


Hot on its heels comes ‘Song For A Prepper’, another great tune with another long intro. Less aggressive than previous stuff and maybe a nod to the expanded Kvelertak audience

Third up, ‘Bridge and Tunnel Guy’ gets its own video and is a fine balance of aggression and hooks.


‘The PKA Took My Money Away’ is far less metal than its predecessors and is by far my favourite tune so far. This feels like the most GBZ-like song so far.

‘Nostradumbass’ carries on the mid-album hump for me, a fine mid-paced tune not a million miles from Ivar’s previous band Silver. There’s a video for this bad boy too.


While ‘Diet 1-2-3′, may lean a little to Backyard Babies territory (not a bad thing at all), ‘The Power of Beer’ is the kind of GBZ banger that ‘Research And Destroy’ has been a little light on.


‘One-Dimensional Man’ is a nasty pop song and boasts one of the strongest choruses on offer. I guess Fysisk Format agrees too because there’s a video for it.


The penultimate track ‘The Original Incel’ is another banger. GBZ to the max, while closer ‘Here Come The Waterworks’ is a far more sedate affair. Decent enough, but like several of the tracks that have gone before it, maybe a bit too much of an offering to their expanding metal audience. But hey, good luck to them.

So there you have it. Ten tracks in just over half an hour, long enough to love but not quite enough to blow you away.

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Author: Fraser Munro

CHEMICIDE – ‘Common Sense’ (PRC Music)

CHEMICIDE – ‘Common Sense’ (PRC Music)

Costa Rica based thrashers Chemicide have been around since 2011 and have released three albums and an EP. Their latest release ‘Common Sense’ has the sound and feel of an old-school thrash album. Echoes of early Sepultura, Kreator, Death Angel, Exodus, Forbidden, Nuclear Assault, with a bit of Morbid Angel thrown in. Not bad eh?

If, like me, you’re a fan of the bands I’ve mentioned above, then you could much worse than check out Chemicide. This really is like stepping back to 1989. All I need is my Cosmic drainpipe (black, of course) jeans, Hi-Tec basketball boots, and a baseball cap worn backward to complete the picture! Big riffs, fast parts, mosh parts, breakneck double bass drumming, shouty vocals and song titles like; ‘Self Destruct’, ‘Barred Existence’, and ‘Strike as One’ just add to the nostalgic charm of the album.

The production from Juan Pablo Calvo has that classic Scott Burns feel to it, very raw and punchy. It really is a thrasher’s delight and it’s very comforting to know that thrash metal is alive and well thanks to bands like Chemicide. Great job guys! Mosh it up!!

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Author: Kenny Kendrick

FM – ‘Thirteen’ (Frontiers Music s.r.l.)

FM – ‘Thirteen’ (Frontiers Music s.r.l.)

While most bands of their ilk are resting on their laurels FM hit the road running with the release of Thirteen, coming hot on the heels of their double Tough It Out Live set from 2021. This album has no right in being as good as it is. Considering they are now only a few years away from hitting 40 years as a band. And the current line-up has been in place since 2008! With this album being produced by the band themselves, they having never sounded better or more on fire than they do over the 11 slabs of melodic rock gold.


Wasting no time, the album kicks into gear with a none more politically apt ‘Shaking The Tree’. When people mentioned singer Steve Overland’s voice it is normally in awe and this song proves that he can sing anything, no matter what the subject and make you want to fight, love and smile all at the same time. Single ‘Waiting for Love’ is more like what we have become accustomed too from the band, but even that sounds fresh and vibrant, especially in today’s musical climate. The flame is still burning for the page 7 stunner that is Steve Overland and I honestly do not think he has ever sounded this good.


As the band themselves continue to lay down some of the most awe-inspiring grooves, from Merv Goldsworthy’s tantalising bass lines, to Pete Jupp’s backbone drumming and Jim Kirkpatrick’s sizzling solos and last but least Jem Davis glorious keys of parp, the band can do no wrong.


Just like the big hitters of the AOR scene any of these songs could be singles as they are all, that good.
Clearly the band are enjoying and relishing their moment in the sun again. And so they should, as this album is up there with their best.

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Author: Dave Prince

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Slyder Smith & The Oblivion Kids – Kickstarter Campaign

Slyder Smith & The Oblivion Kids – Kickstarter Campaign

Slyder Smith first swaggered onto the stage in the 90s as lead guitarist with glam-tinged power popsters, Last Great Dreamers. After releasing four studio albums and one live album on their own label, Ray Records, & having toured extensively throughout the UK & Europe with LGD, Slyder now takes centre stage leading The Oblivion Kids (Tim Emery, Bass and Rik Pratt, Drums) in an honest outpouring of grit, glamour and emotion.

With over an album’s worth of material written, the band have worked tirelessly in the rehearsal studio, whipping into shape a carefully curated, explosive mix of rock anthems, with a few surprises thrown into the mix. With lyrics that speak from the heart, Slyder has delved deep into his own psyche over lockdown and explored numerous new guitar styles, resulting in what can only be described as his best musical output to date.

The Oblivion Kids are chomping at the bit to head in the studio at the end of March with legendary Producer, Pete Brown (who has worked with George Harrison, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Marc Almond, The Smiths & Diamond Head as well as being musical director, vocal arranger & guitarist, in his father’s (Joe Brown) & sister’s (Sam Brown) touring bands & producing Sam’s platinum selling album Stop). 

Having raised the capital required for recording themselves, the band are reaching out to their fans on Kickstarter to help match fund the remaining 50% required to manufacture CDs, Vinyl and other promotional merchandise. In exchange for their support, pledgers can choose from a range of rewards and exclusive experiences.

Support the project on Kickstarter: Here

Various Artists – ‘Post Punk Birmingham 1978-1982’ (Easy Action)

Various Artists – ‘Post Punk Birmingham 1978-1982’ (Easy Action)

First things first I’m looking at the artwork wondering what on earth it is and then after about a week I see the eggbox. It’s been like one of those early 90’s deep-sea pictures you have to stare at, or at least that’s what I felt like. Right onto ‘Un Scene’ and it’s important to document of 78-82 timeframe in England’s second city and how it was developing following the youf explosion of 76-77.

I guess considering Birmingham or the wider area of the middle part of England has generally been ignored or rather overlooked compared to the contribution to youth/pop culture of the 20th Century. the North West gave the world Merseybeat and Beatlemania then post-punk we had that jangly guitar of Icicle Works, Teardrop explodes, Pete Burns, The Bunnymen, and a whole load of other post-punk bands. Madchester (Still in the northwest) followed that with the whole Hacienda scene and Stone Roses. The East Midlands gave the world Two-Tone but what about Birmingham? Sure Slade was west midlands and the Duranies hailed from Brum in the wake of punk but once you scratch the surface there was a whole underground world of creative forces and this wonderful little time capsule offers up a small dark corner of Birmingham and shines a light on in with a very nice booklet documenting the featured bands with some fantastic pictures, live shots, band images, posters and magazine covers of the main protagonists of this featured record/CD.

Laid out over nineteen tracks this snapshot doesn’t always reach the dizzy quality of your modern recordings but often that’s the charm. No doubt these bands worked and played hard to scrape together the dosh to record these songs and it’s important that records like this exist. Maybe there’s a good reason why none of these bands achieved the same adoration some of the other midlands genres achieved but bands like Swell Maps, the Nightingales, Nikki Sudden and TV Eye had a modicum of success and remained firmly placed as underground heroes and icons.

Some of the live recordings are sort of tape deck quality and proper old school whereas other more notable inclusions such as Stephen Tin Tin Duffy’s The Hawkes have ‘Big Store’ included and Comedian Stewart Lees wonderful doc about The Nightingales sees them included with their new wave-like ‘Idiot Strength’. I guess it wouldn’t be complete without Swell Maps who see ‘Vertical Slum’ included. My personal favourite is obviously the inclusion of Nikki Sudden with ‘Channel Steamer’. But what really is the crowning glory is the booklet giving all the meat on the bone from Dave Twists’ own collection, with all the cuttings it’s a fascinating insight into a whole world that is captured in this wonderful time capsule (Besides Twist plays drums on a lot so as long as his memory is half decent his stories must be amazing). Stewart Lee says it perfectly as Birmingham in the UKs motor City and seeing as the likes of Dave Kusworth and John Taylors inclusion also here (Duranies take note), sudden and his brother are no longer with us and the recent passing of Dave Kusworth this is a wonderful artifact that serious fans need to absorb and marvel at what the cold concrete of England’s second city had going on beneath the city lights I implore you to hear and read this most excellent offering. buy it!

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Author: Dom Daley

SAVAK – ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ (Ernest Jenning Record Co/Peculiar Works Music)

SAVAK – ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ (Ernest Jenning Record Co/Peculiar Works Music)

It’s always something special when an album drops on your desk, you nothing about the band, and then said record proceeds to blow your socks off.

Take a bow then Brooklyn based post punk rockers SAVAK for being the first band in quite some time to do just this for me. They are a band I admit I almost skipped over, but thank God I didn’t, because ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ – the band’s upcoming FIFTH (yup I know) album – is an absolute cracker from start to finish.

‘No Blues No Jazz’ (which actually sounds like the record player rules in my house) kicks things off in fine style and with its’ chanted refrain of “No counties, no countries, no pledge of allegiance,” it could be a tribute to the fact that the dozen tracks contained on the album were recorded entirely over Zoom, although it’s not, I’ll leave you to go figure what it’s actually all about by hitting video link below, where all will soon be revealed.

Influence wise ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ really is all over the place, and that’s really what hooked me in, it also sets it well apart from the many other new “rawk” records I could have chosen to review. Be it the melodic Alt-rock delights of perhaps the most immediate track on the album (the truly excellent) ‘Empathy’, or the jammed-out Krautrock meets Detroit in a sleazy Manchester back-alley post punk of ‘Set Apart’, there really is something here for pretty much everyone…well everyone with an open musical mind that is.

As the album literally flies by song hooks come at you thick and fast with the likes of ‘Baltimore Moon’ and ‘Dealers’ bristling with overdriven guitar and glorious vocal harmonies, this really is American guitar rock par excellence. Well, when it wants to be. It’s the subtle twists the album throws you via the likes of the Angelo Badalamenti-tinged atmospherics of closing track ‘Dumbinance’ or the initial downbeat 4AD bass throb of ‘Oddsmaker’ that really take things to the next level and has me returning for multiple listens.

With a history of playing in bands like Obits, The Cops and Holy Fuck, Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski, along with drummer Matt Schulz, have moulded the SAVAK sound (in their own words) as straddling the line between ‘Be Bop a Lula’ and ‘Wap Shoo Wap’ whilst connecting the dots between The Adverts to Bubble Puppy to The 101’ers to MDC, and you know what? They sound absolutely bloody amazing doing it!

‘Human Error / Human Delight’ is released on 15th April 2022, but you can check it out right now via the Bandcamp link below. Get on it folks – this album is very special indeed!

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Author: Johnny Hayward