23The mainstays of The DeRellas Timmy and Luca decided before Covid hit the world that the band must evolve and a shake-up of personnel was undertaken. It was both a brave and bold move considering how well the lineup was producing the goods in the studio and on stages up and down the country but you snooze you loose and so we entered Lockdown 2020 with plans afoot for The Derellas to enter the studio to follow up the excellent High Rise Supersize single. A successful Kickstarter campaign ensued and the band entered Perry Vale Studios with the legendary Pat Collier to begin work on the ‘Somethings Gotta Give’ album and finally, in August of 2021, it will hit the streets with a bang! Crash! & bit of a Wallop!
Right from the off it is fair to say the production is top notch and a fuller more hard edge to the songs takes DeRellas 2021 in a different direction maybe less Glam punk and more focussed punk rock sounding DeRellas. Sure the song topics are about the down n dirty, Glam Punk staple diet of love, life, booze, one night stands and rolling from day to day enjoying life. ‘Don’t Tell Me What I Did Last Night’ has Timmy delivering a sympathetic vocal and to be fair he does it very well and its the one or rather one of the most notable things is the vocals suit the songs very well and the Subs influenced tones sit very well on this record.
Its got a dash of early Manics very mich in evidence on songs like the sleazy ‘Underground LUV’ which is an excellent laid back ode to love L-U-V. Lucas tone and solos sit very nicely in the mix and to be fair is the shining star on the record. Its like the DeRellas coming of age album and finally after all the line up changes have finally cracked the code for whatever it was they were searchign to destroy. ‘Emergency 2020’ deals with the current times in a nutshell with a great Stonesy riff and melody up to the Sonic Temple like solo leaving just enough headroom for the Sweet like breakdown to take this one back to the chorus. Great stuff.
I guess fitting in all your influences and whats in your DNA into a decent song is what every artist is searchign for and whilst this isn’t perfect its the best thing the DeRellas have naild onto tape by some considerable length. The flow of the album in its pace of each song is well lthought and the studo shine from Mr. Collier is most complimentry and will give these songs longevity long after the dayglo spray paint has dried and the guyliner has faded.
The tip of the hat to the mid 80s glory days when every turn was a Hanoi Rocks or A Lords Of The New Church or a Dogs D’Amour slamming into a Soho Roses and a Cheap and Nasty filled the gaps its been a long time for bands to delve into the best that period had to offer and ‘Lifes Crashing’ fills that void very nicely in style and delivery. ‘Pressure Gonna Get Ya’ is another that sails on the influence of maybe a ‘Holy Bible’ era preachers and Timmys distressed vocal is perfect for this and he delivers it in spades some fo his best lyrics to boot.
If you just want snotty punk the ‘Sonic Detonator’ will get you pogoing, along with the wonderfully glamarous Jonesy chug of ‘Soho Hotel’ it’ll give you the chance to join in on the chorus and punch the air and rejoice. One of the albums best songs for me is the laid back ‘Our World Tomorrow’ and as it builds like the bastard child of Stiv and Billy Halo its something that sets this album apart from the previous albums and confirms that maybe this was indeed the right path for the band to head down.
The album isn’t front loaded as we head into the home straight and an updated version of a fantastic glam punk stomp of ‘High Rise Supersize’ signs of a really impressive album thats been well worth the wait. I leave you in no doubt at all that if you were undecided about this then fear not because you wont have any regrets at all because as a listener nothings gotta give because ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ gives everything and more. Get It!
The DeRellas – ‘Inner City Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Rockaway Records) produced at Perry Vale Studios by the legendary Pat Collier. Set in a world of isolation, this is a frantic underworld of Trash as The DeRellas set their time machine for the Bowery and a table booked next to the Dolls and Bowie. Its brash and the most in your face dirty punk n Roll the band has ever sounded and its a gas gas gas! Timmy and Luca dish up an appetizing dish of Inner City Rock ‘N’ Roll its a dash of glamour in a seedy dark nighttime world thats just been set on fire and this is the soundtrack blairing across the city. The new album ‘Something’s Got To Give’ will be out at the end of 2020. so until then this will be Available on download at iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc.,
Stevie R. Pearce & The Hooligans – ‘Rip It Out’ (Self Release) Rip it out for Rock and Roll! Stevie R Pearce & The Hooligans are in the house kids and they’re locked and loaded with a truck full of huuuge Riffs as this lead track set to be released later this month testify being locked up has fueled the fire of a beast of a band who are ready to Rock. Big stomping Riff with a super steady rhythm pounding away as Stevie swings from hushed vocal verses to the soaring chorus. Rock is not dead and a global pandemic can’t stop this juggernaut. Get ready kids its a coming! Pissed off and ready to let you ‘ave it!
Volcanova – ‘Sushi Sam’ (The Sign) Volcanova released an interesting and amusing music video for the single “Sushi Sam”, the first taste of their upcoming album “Radical Waves” out August 21st. Facebook
R.M.F.C. – ‘Reader’ (Anti Fade Records) R.M.F.C. (or Rock Music Fan Club) is the brainchild of 18-year-old Buz Clatworthy, who writes, performs and records all of the group’s output himself in his bedroom in South-east NSW.
The project began in late 2018 after showing a friend a demo, in which they encouraged a proper release. A hypnotic rhythm rattles along, an extremely listenable tune that has a great raw guitar hanging in tune by a thread but as the Buzzcocks type tune also hums with a sweet keyboard. Not an instant hit to be fair but worth investing in for sure.
Nico Bones – ‘Cheatin Heart’ (Dead Beat Records/ Wanda Records). We occasionally miss a great release and for that, we can only beg your forgiveness. Originally released late 2019 this Cali based bunch of punks showed up on our radar when Dead Beat picked it up and put it out in this month’s releases. Nico Bones plays a blend of American Rock ‘n Roll influenced by the sleazy original punks like the Heartbreakers, Dead Boys, and the New York Dolls. The first song sounds like an upbeat Ramones outtake circa 1976… rambunctious and rockin’. They follow it up with 3 more cheatin love songs with snotty vocals, supercharged leads, and catchy melodies that sit somewhere between Johnny Thunders, Stiv Bators, Sonny Vincent, and Jeff Dahl. Facebook / Bandcamp
The Hip Priests – ‘ZFG 2020’ (Shitpark Records) Nothing new going on you say? well, you might be half right but this is the 2020s latest line up of The Hip Priests taking to task one of their finest songs, ‘Zero Fucks Given’. What was already an absolute banger of a tune one of their finest I don’t mind admitting. Is it possible to love a track more? possibly. This sounds huge and I mean colossal huge but not production huge. It always had that Stooges groove but I’m sure if Iggy were to hear this he’d doff his cap and prob ask if he could cover it on his next album and bow out on top. In recognition of what was built on the Stooges foundations this raw pissed off anthem is still a fuckin’ beast. On the flipside is ‘Social Hand Grenade’ taken from the bands last album ‘Stand For Nothing’ and it seems and sounds more apt with every passing day. One of the albums standout tracks (on an outstanding album it has to be said) With a limited number of these available you have to be quick to jump on this one as the gang of believers grows with every passing day. One day they will blow up and explode on the wider public. Shit Islands finest are back in the groove. Facebook
Mäsh – I Don’t Want You’ (WandaRecords) Facebook /Bandcamp Alright let’s go! a sloppy twelve-bar Quolian riff gets proceedings off to a flier and by the second verse they’re running through the Chuck Berry guitar lick 101 handbook and we’re down with that all the way. The song fizzes like a good un and is catchy as hell. Love the breakdown all it needed was more handclaps and possibly some cowbell and it might have become the blueprint for all future punk rock n roll sleazy singles but we also understand you don’t want to shoot your wad early doors and keeping something in reserve is cool. The B Side ‘Whisper’ is like a really good Diamond Dogs tune I’m sure Sulo would be down with these cats as they shake their shit on another top tune. Rock and Roll can’t always be serious or dark sometimes its fun and living in the moment and Mäsh have got it going on and even double denim is cool as fuck just like this singe is.!
PizzaTramp / Incision – ‘Split’ (Self Release) Imagine being bludgeoned to death by a blunt weapon but quite enjoying it as long as it doesn’t hurt too much and doesn’t last more than 3 minutes. That what this Split is like. Repeatedly smashed on the head by a few guitars and a bass drum pedal and some throat-clearing its not painful though and it’s quick but like I say its enjoyable. Two songs each and Pizzatramp win by virtue of being Welsh and their two songs last a progtastic four minutes but fair play to Incision ‘Jennifer Anniston’ is fuckin’ brutal. Buy Here
Wonk Unit – ‘Summer Time/You’re Sick’ (Plasterer Records) Laugh I nearly went to Ethiopia. Fair play to Alex and the gang this is a fuckin hoot. One of if not the most surreal and barmy summers ever now has a soundtrack. Maybe inspired by the likes of Blue doing ‘Girls and Boys’. Part dance euro-pop trash but obviously with a huge dollop of Wonkiness. “Sexy boys sexy girls touch yourself” had me holing I have to be fair. but once it’s in yer noggin’ it’s not leaving any day soon. To cleanse the palate for many is the classic slice of Wonk with ‘You’re Sick’ bringing up the rear. With a steady beat and familiar caustic guitar riff-a-ram Wonk Unit knock it out of the park as they say in ‘merica Buy Here
Godfathers – ‘I’m Not Your Slave’ (Self Release) The Godfathers’ brand new, double A-side – ‘I’m Not Your Slave’ & ‘Wild And Free’ Available in limited edition, clear red vinyl single & also limited edition 4 track CD that features the 2 songs, plus demo versions of both songs unavailable in any other format!! pre-order NOW only from Here This release is for the 35th anniversary of the band’s existence. From the iconic debut to this, there has always been a recognisable sound with crisp, driving guitars and a tight rhythm section and its pleasing to say ‘I’m Not Your Slave’ has all the hallmarks of a classic Godfathers tune. The other side is a steady anthem in the shape of ‘Wild & Free’ following a healthy linage of rockers with attitude from the gang vocals in the chorus to Coyne’s spoken vocals its got groove but I tip my hat to the guitar soloing that’s on display here. Interesting times as the next chapter of The Godfathers unfolds.
The Mercy Kills – ‘Alone’ (Golden Robot Records) Melbourne’s THE MERCY KILLS release their newly remastered single ‘Alone’. The track is taken from their debut album ‘Happy To Kill You’ and has been remastered and re-released as a single for those reaching out digitally in COVID-19 isolation. The message is simple, “You can’t make it alone!” Mixing up the influences of the likes of L7 from the Grunge heyday along with something more rock such as Faster Pussycat with attitude born from the likes of The Ramones. Facebook
The Dust Coda – ‘Early Days – Raw & Unplugged’ (Self Release) In this almost surreal pandemic world, the band decided to brush the dust off some old recordings and release a collection of four acoustic tracks, which will give fans an intimate listening experience. This EP further unveils The Dust Coda calm soothing acoustic works. Each song as gentle as the previous with an almost Southern rock warmth akin to the lighter workings of The Black Crowes sound and style. Throughout the EP mellow guitar riffs combined with the gritty vocals are the key elements setting the scene for an intense acoustic journey. Electricity was used to power a guitar but not a lot. Chill out in the sun and socially distance kids this retro southern rock will do the job. Facebook
Larkin Poe – ‘Back Down South’ ( ) Featuring guest appearance from fellow Nashville musician Tyler Bryant this is another slice of Southern Roots-Rock with some really strong vocals all round and with subtle swirling Hammond thrown into the mix it’s not just about the cotton-picking guitar licking as it approaches the crossroads from the fuzzy slide, these sisters have got it going on with a tune thats got an air of extreme confidence it never breaks out remaining laid back right to the bitter end. Taken from the forthcoming album ‘Self Made Man’ this will only add to the expectations of the long player.
Onslaught – ‘Religioussuicide’ (AFM Records) U.K. Thrashers present their new single ‘Religiousuicide’, The song is taken from the upcoming album ‘Generation Antichrist’, which will be released in August. ‘Religiousuicide’ marks the debut of new vocalist Dave Garnett who recently replaced long term frontman Sy Keeler. They’re not reinventing the wheel here kids its Thrash Metal as we know it and its exercised to perfection from the rumbling gutwrenching bass to the pneumatic drumming Dave Garnett settles in nicely as the guitars buzz around the speakers towards the dueling solo. thrashtastic and you know it dives bombs rapid tapping, frantic double bass its all here present and correct and it also has the gang vocals – job done.
Dead Horse – ‘Night’ The first cut from Londoners Dead Horse EP released next month. Dead Horse formed in 2019 when former Love Buzzard frontman Kevin Lennon (bass/vox) returned to London from Brighton, meeting up with long time bandmates (Rumour Mill/Kids From K Hole) Duncan Clark (drums) and Josh Kemp (guitar) via a mutual interest in garage rock/punk, old and new. Facebook
23The mainstays of The DeRellas Timmy and Luca decided before Covid hit the world that the band must evolve and a shake-up of personnel was undertaken. It was both a brave and bold move considering how well the lineup was producing the goods in the studio and on stages up and down the country but you snooze you loose and so we entered Lockdown 2020 with plans afoot for The Derellas to enter the studio to follow up the excellent High Rise Supersize single. A successful Kickstarter campaign ensued and the band entered Perry Vale Studios with the legendary Pat Collier to begin work on the ‘Somethings Gotta Give’ album and finally, in August of 2021, it will hit the streets with a bang! Crash! & bit of a Wallop!
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