The Hold Steady have announced the release of their ninth studio album, The Price of Progress, arriving everywhere on the band’s Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers on 31st March 2023. It will be available digitally as well as on CD, standard black vinyl, translucent green-colored vinyl (band store), metallic gold (indie retail), metallic silver (Vinyl Me, Please), and white (Rough Trade). Pre-orders are available now. The Price of Progress is heralded by today’s premiere of the first song, ‘Sideways Skull’, available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
“Sideways Skull is a rocking song about rock and rollers,” says frontman Craig Finn. “In this case, they’ve been taken out of the game for a bit of rest, but still keep their dreams alive as they discuss past glories. We loved the big sound of this when Tad Kubler brought it into the band, and the studio performance of it felt especially joyful. We’re happy to put this forth as a first look at The Price of Progress, and the album’s title even comes from this song.”
Mar 10 – The Weekender at Electric Ballroom, London, UK Mar 11 – The Weekender at Electric Ballroom, London, UK Mar 12 – Colours Hoxton, London, UK (SOLD OUT)
Those Northern herberts The City Kids are back with a new album under their collective studded bullet belts, and you best believe they mean business this time around. With Covid putting the brakes on any promotion and touring of their debut long player ‘Things That Never Were’, the four-piece punk n’ rollers (led by former Main Grains guitar slinger JJ Watt), avoided becoming ‘the band that never were’ by battening down the hatches during lockdown and planning their sophomore album remotely.
Whereas the debut City Kids album was a collection of songs that frontman JJ had already written and arranged himself, the resulting follow up album ‘Filth’ is a collaborative effort and a step up both sonically, creatively and artistically.
Berty Burton’s bass rumble on the opening title track, paired with Dave Sanders urgent beats ensure the listener is paying attention from the off. JJ’s unmistakable growl has the grit of a 40 a day habit and the stench of last night’s rum & coke session still on his breath, while the metallic licks of former Warrior Soul man Dennis Post seal the deal. ‘Filth’ is…. well, it’s downright filthy from the word go!
Next, the upbeat ‘Alone’ rides along on a glorious melody and some killer guitar work, its over before you’ve had time to sink another drink. Things are certainly cooking in the world of The City Kids two tracks deep.
The overall sound is raw and ramshackle, but with the guidance of a certain Dave Draper overseeing JJ and Andy Brook in the production and mixing department, it is also a bit of a monster. The delivery is cool and collected and the songs are as memorable as the heroes the band aim to channel. Their punk n’ roll sound is a mash of Social Distortion and The Yo-Yo’s with hints of JJ’s previous band to the fore. As with the debut, melody is prevalent and the hooks are there for all to savour.
The gritty, high energy single ‘It Should Have Been You’ is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on and the punchy, Wildhearts-esque ‘You Wanna?’ is an early stand out that sinks its teeth into the subconscious and stays there for good. There’s something overly familiar in the pop-tastic melodies of ‘Scars’ that sits well, and the pub rock goodness of ‘Self-Righteous’ will have you coming back for more time and time again.
Is it me, or have JJ’s vocals got rawer over the past few years? Maybe the dude’s been chewing glass over lockdown to get that authentic Lemmy / Mike Ness rasp! Shout out to the backing vocal department on this album, the likes of ‘Something Faster’ and ‘Ghosts’ have a quality you don’t hear every day. Full band vocals and memorable choruses go a long way to elevate the tunes to anthemic sing-a-longs.
Ten tracks of no-frills filth, job done!
If you like your music with dirt under the fingernails and grease in the hair, if you dig no frills rock n’ roll with 3 chords and tons of attitude then The City Kids could be right up your street. ‘Filth’ is a step in the right direction for JJ and the boys and is available now to purchase on a shiny spinning disc with a cool cover. I suggest you click on the link below and add it to your collection. Hell, buy a few for Xmas pressies, RPM Santa insists!
I think it was Lemmy who once said If Motorhead moved in next door your grass would die and if a nuclear war was to happen the only things to survive would be cockroaches and them, well, he was wrong. The Erotics would crawl out of some downtown bar on their hands and knees barely alive but hungover and ready to Rock. Ladies and Gentlemen the Motherfuckin Erotics are back in the room and they’re taking a swing at everyone and everything. they’re plugged in, loud and rockin’ out.
‘Knocking On Deaths Door’ is loud obnoxious and soloing with the best of them. It’s like a time machine has taken me back to the late 80s and I’m on the strip with a headache and a thirst for more loud Rock and Roll and then in the distance, I hear Micky Trash and the boys hauling ass and everything is on ten and there are fireworks exploding all over my speakers.
Sleazy aint the word and that Stooges saxophone on ‘Helltown Boogie’ is dirty, low down and dirty as fuck. The guitars are loud and distorted and there is added harmonica and sax here and there and Micky sings in Spanish just for shits and giggles. It’s like classic Cooper meets some dirty Noo Yawk attitude some sleazy hard rock and punk swirling round a tumbler full of cheap whisky it’s not good for you but you can’t get enough of it. It’s broadway but late at night – it’s razzmatazz but out of step.
‘Diamonds’ is laid back mixing up some Guns n rose when they were fresh and up for it. you might have stumbled upon this late night in the St Moritz club way back in the day and most of those glamourous punks have gone away but thankfully some are still here and some are called The Erotics.
‘Too Hot To Stop’ has got a classic sleazy riff and it’s twirling its mic stand like a punk rock Diamond Dave. For sure The Erotics aren’t gonna change the world or sell a million records but they are honest and clearly love what they do and the world is a better place with them in it and that’s good enough for me as they play their hearts out living the dream lying in the gutter looking at the stars and feeling like a million bucks and if you ain’t wearing a smile when that riff kicks in on ‘Bless Your Heart’ then you might wanna go to the Emergency room to check for a pulse. Power to the Erotics and all who set sail with them it’ll be the best of times I’m sure of that.
As the bell tolls an eerie deathly silence is about to be shattered with some diabolical grunting bass and a shimmering blast of Garage Rock and Roll as it spews forth from the speakers with a creepy crawly menace as ‘Ms. Understanding’ hits the speakers. What a fantastic sounding opener that got an air of controlled chaos about it with the thumping Bass piercing through the guitars to grab the listener as it lurches with menace.
With eleven tracks packed onto this album, you better strap yourself in for a rocket ride of power and controlled aggression but with an overwhelming whiff of Garage rock n roll. ‘Bad Connection’ kicks ass right out of the blocks and I like this a lot already. The thrust and adrenalin continue at pace as ‘Shake You Down’ thunders in. ‘Inbred Respect’ has the beating heart of the Damned era ‘Machine Gun Ettiquete’ on its harder more punchy tunes like ‘Love Song’.
With a spoken intro ‘Action Volume’ turns up a bastardised ‘Iron Man’ on a fuzzed-out distorted electric guitar. The song sounds like a hell of a night out with its rolling rhythm before smashing out on the chorus. ‘Born To Die In 73’ is straight out 77 punk rock. Its the snotty distant cousin of early Damned, UK Subs and SLF and a real fist-pumping thumper. Guitars being rinsed, snare getting a thrashing and full-bodied rhythm – nice!
‘The Revolution Is Dead’ tells the story of Lennon’s assassination and why the future is/was bleak, but pop culture is alive and kicking and The Revolution might well be around the next corner who knows? Signing off with the super fuzz of ‘Lone Astronaut’ this has been a treat on the ears and brain food for the Garage Rock connoisseur.
There has always been great music and this DC Spectres album is a fantastic offering tipping the hat to what’s gone before and picking up that torch and running into the future with it hopefully inspiring others to play Rock n Roll – loud, hard, fast and with this much passion and a love of the fine art of the Garage band and what it means. Play on my friends Vol 4 is a mighty fine album that is worthy of being classed as All Killer no Filler! Buy it!
Today, post-hardcore dream team – Fake Names – announce their second studio album, ‘Expendables’for release on March 3rd, 2023 via Epitaph Records.
The band is comprised of members Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty), Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace), Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, INVSN, The [International] Noise Conspiracy), Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside) and newest addition Brendan Canty (Fugazi, Rites of Spring). It’s the latest exchange in a musical conversation that spans four decades, but instead of rehashing the past, ‘Expendables’ is a reinvention that sees the band dialing back the distortion and leaning into the melodies.
Today they share lead single “Delete Myself,” a high energy craft cocktail comprised of Punk and Garage, finished with unforgettable riffs.
Forming in 2016, Brian Baker describes Fake Names as a “mutual admiration society,” saying that once the five members got in the same room together, it felt as if they had already been in the band together for years. “There’s this intangible energy, a clairvoyance that comes from our shared experience,” he explains. On ‘Expendables,’ the result pairs their unparalleled pedigree with a pop sensibility that’s slightly unexpected and wholly satisfying.
Melding 70’s U.K. punk with power-pop and classic rock, the Fake Names’ self-titled debut album (2020) was actually a demo that Epitaph founder and Baker’s Bad Religion bandmate, Brett Gurewitz, wanted to release as is. After releasing a three-track EP in 2021, the band enlisted producer Adam “Atom” Greenspan (IDLES, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) who helmed a surprisingly cleaner sound for Expendables. Baker says, “The pop influences are a little more out front on this one and the production really helps it shine. It sounds more direct, more urgent.”
There’s also an economy to these songs that’s rooted in the fact that they were recorded in the span of a week, eliminating the option to add excess instrumentation or arrangements. What ensues is an album that retains the members’ purity of vision in a strikingly refreshing way.
Speaking to lyrical themes, Baker discloses, “In general, Dennis writes about revolution, and Michael and I write pop songs. I’m amazed at how it works, but somehow it strikes the right balance of salty and sweet.” This imagery is paralleled in the album artwork which Baker describes as “70’s dystopian” and features an eerie army of mannequins set against a cold urban backdrop. That dichotomy of lively music and bleak imagery is an important thematic element of Expendables because the album is more than just a collection of catchy songs: it’s an artistic statement about our own impermanence.
As the guitar dive bombs into a familiar sound, I have to be honest I had a lump in my throat but as soon as ‘Wild West’ unleashed its histrionics on my ears, I quickly decided that it was a great way to celebrate an iconic and much-loved exponent of the six-string and what better way to celebrate a life loved than in his natural environment – on stage banging out great Rock n Roll at high volume. Bernie Tormé was a Rock n Rolla from the moment he stepped out right up to his untimely departure on the eve of his 67th Birthday.
Tormé chose to let his music do the talking and naming his final tour – ‘Final Fling’ seems hauntingly prophetic now. The shows each night proved time and again that the Irishman had lost none of his joy of playing live, every night was the same in that he gave his all and it was always – loud, brash, energetic, and did I say loud? and honest.
What you had live was the definition of power trio and after the decision not to record any of the shows, the band regretted not doing so – so loaded the gear into a live room and set up one more time to run through a set of classics numbers, spanning Tormé’s career. Featuring classics from across his solo career, as well as nods to his days in Ozzy Osbourne’s band and Gillan, ‘Final Fling’ captures the essence of what made Bernie Tormé so special.
The set list is of such a high pedigree with barnstorming takes on classics like ‘No Easy Way’ from his Gillan era as well as a few excellent Ozzy takes on ‘Mr Crowley’ and especially ‘Crazy Train’ complete with some dazzling guitar wizardry from those fingers. But if I was to pick a favourite over all the covers and tips of the hat to his past I’d go for the stunning ‘Star’ but the band is on fire on ‘Can’t Beat Rock n Roll’ and the Gillan era Elvis track ‘Trouble’ and this take of ‘New Orleans’ which always lit up a Gillan set. To be fair Tormé’s CV is quite exceptional from Ozzy and Gillan through his solo work or having Phil Lewis do some of his best work with Bernie or his time spend with Dee Snider through his solo material and the quite exceptional GMT line up Torme certainly saw it, bought the t-shirt and quite possibly played on the record.
Blow off some cobwebs on your speakers by blasting out this ‘Final Fling’ its exactly how a live recording should sound and having no audience is as it should be so Rest In Peace Mr Tormé and make sure there’s a Marshall stack and plenty of speakers up there for when you need to plug in and play on. Turn this bad boy up and let it rip!
If power pop is your thing, The Speedways are already on your radar. And with this, their third ‘proper’ album, I’m running out of superlatives fast. Put simply, since ‘Just Another Regular Summer’, they haven’t put a foot wrong. Quite how Matt and the boys come up with so many ear worms, I have no idea.
‘Dead From The Heart Down’, from the first heartbeat, will have you hooked. It’s like the first time I heard the debut album by The Jags, the attention to detail is fantastic, but it’s the tunes that stay with you. ‘Secret Secrets’ is the kind of song that I wish Johnny Marr would write, the guitars weaving between the sweet backing vocals.
‘Shoulda Known’ is one of my favourite songs this year, another that should be on the radio. Here comes the key change…classic. 1979 was an amazing year for pop music, and The Speedways, while not chained to the past, have absorbed the very best bits of the era to create essentially timeless pop songs. ‘A Drop In The Ocean’ starts with a Kinks ‘So Tired’ which wrongfoots you before the song proper begins. Another slice of romantic pop.
Thirteen songs and no need to fast forward. That doesn’t happen often, and guitarist Mauro has plenty of experience in this from his time in Jonny Cola And The A-Grades. From ‘Kiss Me Goodbye’ to ‘Strange Love’, you can just immerse yourself in perfectly crafted pop. It sounds effortless, but really isn’t.
‘Weekend 155’ is this album’s ‘This Is About A Girl…’, taking the band in a slightly different direction, which satisfies more with each listen. The title track gets a bit funky, which reminds me of some of Hanoi’s early tunes, a big compliment! It’s subtle but classy. ‘A Song Called Jayne…’ is the kind of riff you try to write, but never quite manage. Unless you’re Matt or Mauro.
‘Monday Was The Start Of The Stars’, with its conversation intro, and ‘Summer’s Over’ provide melancholy, bittersweet moments, with a hint of Jimmy Scott in there somewhere. Class.
I’d be very happy to have written only ‘Taken’ or ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’, and would retire. The Speedways have written an album chock full of ‘em. You think I’m exaggerating? Listen, then order. Treat your ears. Undoubtedly ‘Power Pop Album Of The Year’.
UK punks Grade 2 announce their third studio album eponymously titled ‘Grade 2’ today, due for release on February 17, 2023 via Hellcat Records.
Their most representative work yet, the record is a thumping fifteen track tour-de-force melding the uncompromising ethos of punk with the howl of contemporary injustice, personal identity, and frustrations of Gen-Z youth, authentically told by three lads with punk coursing through their veins.
Grade 2 also share a new music video for “Under The Streetlight” ahead of the album. The high-energy track with a spirited, hopeful melody comes with a feel-good music video that praises the power of community. The band comments, “Even though there are times when life can feel stagnant or things aren’t going to plan, there will always be people there to support you whether it’s mates, a partner, or your family.” Watch the video below!
50 years after the genre turned the music world upside-down, UK based Grade 2 are bringing the raw power of old school punk to a new generation. United by a love of old-school punk, ska and oi, childhood friends Sid Ryan (vocals, bass), Jacob Hull (drums) and Jack Chatfield (guitar, vocals) formed the band at fourteen years old, honing their craft playing Clash and Jam covers before refining their own sound. With an album and EP already under their belts, in 2018 the trio signed to Hellcat Records – helmed by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong – and put out their 2019 record ‘Graveyard Island.’ After getting invited to work at Armstrong’s Ship Rec Studio for Grade 2, the band was stoked to be back. “Returning to Ship Rec Studio resparked that magic dynamic,” says guitarist Jack Chatfield. “When we’re in there I feel like we reach our full potential. Tim would offer tweaks and tips for some songs, while others he’d compliment the first time we’d play them.”
Melding the near-mythical musical heritage of their native Isle of Wight with the humdrum reality of growing up in a tired seaside town, Grade 2 spit out blistering punk music laced with passion, angst, humor and despair. With a commitment to the cause, lead single ‘Doing Time’ is a thunderous hardcore punk track screaming “Spoon feed me corporate lies; I left that place with a noose to my neck.” Frontman Sid Ryan explains, “Like everyone else, 2020 left us proper fucked off.” He continues, “Yet we were able to channel every ounce of that despair into every second of this record.”
What results is a bone-crunching 35-minutes that agitates, intoxicates and liberates in equal measure. The trio is famed for blistering live performances and exceptional musicianship, and they have successfully packaged the essence of their live show in the limited format of an album. Tune in and turn up. Here’s a record to rattle your bones, stir your heart and have you singing till you’re hoarse like it’s the first day of punk.
It’s been a while since I dipped into the Ruts DC sound, even longer since I caught them live, way back in the Melkweg in Amsterdam with Johnny H and in truth a break from a Brutal afternoon of Gimp Fist, Lions Law and Discipline!!!
But on to this baby, welcome to One of my Favourite LPs of the year so far in a year that’s had some real blinders. A reminder of the times we’re living in, while also reminding us that Punk has a voice, and sometimes it just has to be listened to.
Opener Faces in the sky is one of the strongest openers to have hit these ears in a while, then Caught in the Kill Zone just moves it up a gear!!! That guitar sound that we all love front and centre.
Next up X-Ray Joy, shifts sound and focus, much lighter before things again move up a gear the sound just washes over you, drawing you in deeper and deeper. There’s the merest hint of a reggae skank to the beginning of The Question is before that Bass run takes over and that stabbing punk guitar nudges you reminding you of where the Ruts come from, where the sound is grounded, a societal scream of anguish, a story waiting to be told. Born Innocent gives you that hint of a dub reggae opening before the message in the lyrics stands tall and we move into some gorgeous lead guitar work.
Next up Counterculture again draws on that Ruts heritage, the guitars picking at you, “Whatever happened to the Counterculture?!” standing tall as a vocal refrain, probably standing up as my fave track on the LP. Too Much has an almost soft rock intro before that’s put firmly in its place and we’re back into that guitar sound we all know so well.
Truth be told there isn’t a weak track on this LP!!! Definitely, an LP for the times we’re struggling to survive in, led by the latest Tory Austerity measures, paying astronomical bonuses to the bankers (Give it 5 years and we’ll be bailing them out again) with Energy suppliers bleeding us dry, more than ever we need to turn and embrace the Counterculture, giving that light of Hope that music provides.
Think Hellacopters, think Märvel, think hard rockin’ scandi style with loads of dueling guitars set for maximum lean back and diddle. one-finger piano tonking and shout-it-out-loud vocals. Hell, it’s on The Sign Records what were you expecting? oh and turn those Orange amps up to 11.
‘”Break Free’ is the sophomore studio album by Finland’s Rokets. Following the release of their 2020 debut full-length ‘Fast Time’, the Helsinki-based 5 piece returns with 9 new tunes of high octane rockin’ and rollin. Distorted twelve bar with wailing vocals from the off its got melody and that Street hard rock that’s well worn from this neck of the woods. ‘Burn Down The Wall’ is the Rokets showing their hand right from the off and a decent stab it is too. The solo is mighty fine and I am a sucker for that over-the-top piano bashing but it doesn’t get enough limelight here – it does threaten but I think it’s too restrained and should be unleashed, but that’s only a personal impression.
‘Break Free’ is melodic, catchy rock, and the cliches and hallmarks are authentic and the closeness to the Hellacopters on the second track ‘Destroyer’ is like two rizlas in a pack of papers. It’s rapid and thumping and boundlessly energetic and the solo is on point and exactly what the song needed but it could have gone on longer and more in your face but maybe H&S wouldn’t legally permit it.
These cats have been at this for over five years so aren’t newcomers and I’m sure live this would be a cool night out and your ears would be ringing for days which is probably exactly what they want to achieve. If they rule the Finnish underground then now is the time to spread their wings and get out there post-pandemic and rise above that underground – they’ve got the attitude and the chops to pull it off, I’m sure of it.
With nine songs on offer, they don’t stray from their MO and the album Rocks hard from the title track to the bass-thumping ‘Best Kept Secret’ through the old-school riff-a-rama of ‘Straight From The Source’ right to the blast off of ‘Cherry Kiss’. The record might lack some variety and they only really pause for the semi-ballad to close the record, ‘Roots’ is a good un to sign off on and the louder you play this the bigger the rewards. Good effort gentlemen and if you make it to the UK I will be down the front windmilling. Until then Break Free brother break free.
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