Scene Killers – ‘Beat, Beat, Beat’ (Brassneck Records UK & Lavasocks Records USA)

Scene Killers – ‘Beat, Beat, Beat’ (Brassneck Records UK & Lavasocks Records USA)

Members of The Hip Priests, TV CRIME and Blatz/The Criminals follow up the 2020s ‘Rev It Up’ mini album with yet more loud, rough round the edges, fast as fuck punk/metal. singer Jesse Luscious (Blatz, The Criminals) barks out the vocals to a backdrop of paint-peeling hack-and-slash guitar riffs and a chest-smashing rhythm section. The USA offers up plenty of hardcore punk bordering on metal bands that write succinct drops of pure noise so why can’t this side of the pond dish up something similar? The answer is simple because they can and Scene Killers do. They don’t fuck about never have, never will not in their day job bands and not as the collective that is Scene Killers.

The Album kicks off with the twisted intro that signals ‘Gimme Gimme’ has begun guitars slash and the vocals are barked out its got a tonne of energy and its pace is purposeful and confident great opener. ‘Immigrant Eyes’ takes the whole old school HC and runs with it like OFF! and the forefathers like Bad Brains it’s direct and uncompromising but a whole lot of fun to boot – get in the pit ya rascals.

As the band shift through the gears ‘One Way Street’ turns up the heat and Jesse delivers a great vocal but the guitars are on fire with Austin trying to tame the wild licks sparking off his six-string. If I was forced to pick a favourite track apart from the song ‘Big City’ with its slower more menacing tempo and thuggish gang vocals on the chorus I’d plum for ‘They’re Wrong’ for its hypnotic riff and perfecting everything on the album in one song. As the album opens up the MO is simple, play hard, play fast don’t compromise, and knock these songs out of the park with passion and power. So the band meets their brief as songs like ‘Antennas’ is raw as fuck whereas the title track sounds like a modern-day Dead Kennedys in style but I’d guess that it’s part of the band’s DNA but they certainly don’t sound like a West Coast surf punk band there are equal amounts of NYHC happening here as well absorbing all sides of uncompromising punk rock from all over this spinning rock and making it their own you hear bits of Bad Brains and Black Flag as the music pours over you but there’s more going on here – much more.

If you’re not convinced ‘They’re Wrong’ rocks up and will smash you over the head with some cracking riff-a-rama swirling around the uncompromising vocals. Keeping it short and sweet the band closes the album on track number nine with ‘We’re All Decay’ and you should feel suitably pulverised by the end of it. An excellent album that’s brutal and uncompromising with no time for light and shade just a forboding attack, attack, attack but it is addictive and beautiful all at the same time to fuck with you. Another day another top record from the collective minds of people who love punk rock but being in bands like TV Crime and The Hip Priests what else would you expect? Buy It!

Buy Here

TV Crime – Metal Town (Alian Snatch Records)

TV Crime – Metal Town (Alian Snatch Records)

I’ve loved the singles from TV Crimes and waited patiently for a full album from the East Midlands noisemakers and finally here it is ‘Metal Town’ is everything I wanted it to be and more. Punchy, noisy, melodic no bullshit Rock and Roll.  Seems perfect, but once you lock into the groove they’re ‘Jamming out on ‘Neo Waltz’ then you too will find them irresistible. They have elements of a young Elvis Costello in the vocal delivery and plenty of 60 ft Dolls and the likes of S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men are in there as well in their approach to songwriting and pop music hooks.  Just listen to opener ‘Hooligans’ and tell me differently? When it came out as a single I had to get it – A fantastic opener by anyone’s standard.

‘In The Gutter’ is aggressive like Wellar fronting Buzzcocks on some Diggle numbers. Rolling with a Parkinson’s vibe its got an excellent hook – I love the chorus and can imagine bouncing around in some dingy club as this pounds my eardrums.  Its been too long since the UK had a band that could cross over many genres and draw in punters on the strength of their songs alone. well, I recon TV Crime have got the chops to pull it off.  I remember the NME wetting their collective pants when the Libertines did house calls and Camden was buzzin’ well its been too long since the streets had that going on but there are a few bands around right here right now who could carry it off. The band drag in the punk rock snot of ‘Can’t Remember Your Name’ it’s got an attitude, not unlike Cyanide Pills.

You can tell when you have an album this good on the player because when it’s finished you shove it back on again and a month later your still thinking the same. It’s trashy punk rock ‘n’ roll and these boys do it over and over again.  They make it sound so easy.  The bands last singles B side ‘Clocking Out’ is included next with its fast stomping twelve-bar kicking rhythm.

There’s no reinventing the wheel here and they haven’t gone and discovered some brand new genre of music that will spearhead a brand new youth culture or sweep in some new craze for the 21 century what TV Crime have is a war chest full of top tunes from the slower more purposeful ‘Television Crime’ to the out and out Rock and Roll of ‘Man In The Pub’ or the yobbish ‘Never Been In Love’ its sweaty packed out club night Rock and Roll and you might not know it but you need it – trust me.   Just Buy it its a fuckin’ great time on record loud rock and roll with plenty of punch and the occasional swift kick to the knackers – ‘Ave It!

 

Buy Digital ‘Metal Town’ Here

Physical Vinyl Here