Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls – ‘Viva La Wattage’ (Sioux Records)

Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls – ‘Viva La Wattage’ (Sioux Records)

No, your right he doesn’t need any introduction and any self-respecting rock and rolla should know the guy’s pedigree.  He was one half of D Generation at a time when music was screaming out for Rock and Roll bands – real Rock and Roll bands and this guy slung his six-string around like his life depended on it and helped save Rock and Roll in the 90s. He left he came back and in between, he released his own album and managed to come to plague island and shake his shit for those of us cool kids who were in the know.  He’s had Sami Yaffa sling his four-string around and his Jet Black & Beautiful is one of my most treasured CDs.

Well, unknown to me or I might just have not been paying too much attention but ‘Viva La Wattage’ kinda just sneaked out into the ether and I had to get one of my stateside besties to pick up a copy for me and ship it over.  I don’t remember being this excited to spin an album in a long time.

 

There are a few tunes redone from previous outings and whilst they are neither better they are certainly no worse than previous offerings like the blistering ‘Pugnacious’.  With The luckiest Girls being Jimbo Britt on the Bass, Bill Eagan on Drums, Danny Ray on saxophone, Larry Burlison on guitar, and Lutie Cain on vocals this band make a pretty impressive noise and ‘Perfect Example’ is just that.

 

I love Bacchus’ vocals there is a dreamy quality to it that’s engaging and trusting Hell I’ve no idea why that is but it always feels good to hear his taking me on a lyrical adventure with a smirk on his lips and a cheeky glint in his eye no doubt.  The songs though,  the bloody songs. There is a Clash-like rugged charm about them especially the epic ‘Oh Brother’  its smokey late night down the LES and the saxophone is a great addition to the mix – man, it’s such a Noo Yawk saxophone even Johnny Thunders would have approved.  But Wait, What?  Flip it over and side two begins with the smoldering beast that is ‘Adios Muchacho’ where the Saxophone rules as it meanders through the cracks of the music being laid down by the band.  What a tune, No I mean it.  Sure as a writer maybe I should try harder to express how the song goes but I can’t.  It’s fair to say I love it so much I had to lift the needle to give this one a standing ovation once it finished. From the strummed acoustic and sax wheeze to Bacchus’ storytelling unfolds into a heaving beast of a late-night deal with it I’m smashed kinda song.

 

Bacchus understands what it takes to write Rock and Roll it must be coursing through his veins you can’t teach it you either have it or you don’t and these cats have it.  ‘The Luckiest Girl’ is a beauty, it’s the morning after the night before, and walking home at 7 am with a leather jacket over the shoulder and a pair of cool shades on its effortless cool that’s what it is. My only gripe is it’s only twelve songs and not more.

If you’re wondering if there is scope for some of that Bacchus ska tip well fear not kids ‘Goochi Boxer’ will service all your needs.  To close this one off there’s a ragged romp through ‘Bankrobber’  and why not?  All in all a bloody top-notch record but I expected nothing less but it is nice to know that some artists never let you down.  Don’t leave it so long to follow this one up please Mr. Bacchus.   Hurry to the link and secure your copy before they’re all gone gone gone because they say there are no more after this limited press.

 

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Author: Dom Daley

Slumb Party – Spending Money (Drunken Sailor Records)

Slumb Party – Spending Money (Drunken Sailor Records)

 

Imagine a record that manages to capture the sounds of prime time Pulp and some alt bands from yesteryear like XTC and that hard to pigeon hole post-punk and you pretty much have cornered yourself some Slumb Party. The songs pretty mu7ch all feature a throbbing bass some angular jarring guitars  and some coooool synth licks and to round it all of there are also some really jazzy saxophone stabs like the fantastic ‘Shingles Bells’ I’d imagine these guys n gal have in the past (or present) been influenced by The Fall and the likes of XTC and the X-Ray Spex and bands like Buzzcocks and magazine.  It’s fair to say at times they have a splash of colour like the Briefs.  I love the vigour and runaway train that is ‘Time To Stop’ that rumble of the bass with the rapid snare beats is fantastic against that vacant synth lick but the vocals are shaking away like they’re trying to shake themselves off the record.  In contrast, the next track is a vacant bored slice of desperation entitled ‘~Existance’ that throws up comparisons of the likes of Cabbage.

‘Back Stabber’ is like an indie Stooges and the saxophone is majestic as is that funhouse bass pinch n slap. this would give Julian Cope a run for his money and in a tight club, I can imagine the walls would be sweating along to the screams of this jazzy little number. Who would have thought Nottingham would throw up one of the alternative albums of the year with the East midlands turning up trumps again with the likes of RPM favs The hip Priests and TV Crime hailing from this neck of the woods or should that be forest?

I was wracking my brain to think who it was who the vocals and some of the tunes reminded me of and when ‘Sound Off’ sped through my speakers The name Richard Hell sprang to mind and sure on the more punky end of the scale there is certainly an element caught up in the tunes. Even though it’s quite the eclectic album there is a cohesive thread throughout the album and the quality is high and the songs are engaging throughout without ever getting too experimental or jazzy.

Right down to the last number – the title track with that saxophone howling I’m impressed and the B52’s chanting of the vocals is really appealing. Slumb Party deliver a really excellent album of alternative music songs like the one in the video below made me dig out my International Noise conspiracy albums because I love that garage keyboard sound theres more to this than greets the ears.  check em out!

Author: Dom Daley

 

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