{"id":12729,"date":"2020-07-27T05:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=12729"},"modified":"2020-07-24T22:11:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T22:11:02","slug":"the-hip-priests-solid-gold-easy-option-speedowax-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=12729","title":{"rendered":"The Hip Priests \u2013 \u2018Solid Gold Easy Option\u2019 (Speedowax Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you suddenly have the desire to collect The Hip Priests 7 inchers, just forget it already! That\u2019s tantamount to saying you are gonna start collecting Star Wars figures or Kiss merchandise…there\u2019s just too damn many, they\u2019re too expensive and you won\u2019t find \u2018em all! But lucky for you, those fuckin\u2019 boys have saved you the trouble and gathered together the lost gems, the hard to find cuts and the curios for all The Hip Priest fanboys and fangals to salivate over.<\/p>\n

Yes, if you are a fully-fledged member of the Spasm Gang or even just a casual fan, (ie you don\u2019t wear black denim every fuckin\u2019 day!) then you probably already own the comprehensive double album \u2018A Decade Of Disdain\u2019. An album that brought together the best of The Hip Priests singles released over 2 pretty coloured records. And if you don\u2019t, then give yourself a slap and get it sorted before we have words!<\/p>\n

Well, \u2018Solid Gold Easy Option\u2019 is The Hip Priests strike back! 17 hard to find tracks from singles and EPs released between 2017-2019. That\u2019s 6 cover versions bastardised by the band, sandwiched between 11 glorious original jams previously unavailable to mere mortals until now.<\/p>\n

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If quality, high octane garage rock is your thing, if you dig sonically seductive sounds delivered with more filth and fury than a Johnny Depp\/Amber Heard weekend bender, then \u2018Solid Gold Easy Option\u2019 is right up your street. The dirty, the clean and the truly obscene rub sweaty shoulders and bloody knuckles in a defiant \u201cfuck you!\u201d to society, with no hint of socially distancing going on.<\/p>\n

The epic \u2018No Time (Like Right Now)\u2019 is present and correct. Clocking in at just under 10 minutes, it\u2019s their punk rock masterpiece, channelling the power of the MC5 with the horns and suss of Rocket From The Crypt, while they rant a diatribe about political skulduggery and post Brexit fuckery. It\u2019s a punk rock anthem for right now. The other 3 tracks from that EP are present and correct, but the punk and belligerent \u2018All My Rowdy Friends Are Dead\u2019 and album closer \u2018I\u2019m Too Good\u2019 seems to pale in comparison to the overly cool \u2018She\u2019s A Queen\u2019. It sounds like Ian Astbury jamming with The Hellacopters, with one finger piano stabs, overly fuzzy guitars and vocals delivered straight from the crotch. It could be my favourite Hip Priests song right now.<\/p>\n

Covers-wise, the likes of Motorhead\u2019s \u2018The Hammer\u2019 and Demons \u2018 Hot Running Blood\u2019 are perfect Hip Priests fodder and stay pretty true to the originals. The Stooges \u2018Loose\u2019 is suitably ramshackle, sped up and delivered with guts and glory. Saxon\u2019s \u2018Play It Loud\u2019 follows the same path and sounds epic.\u00a0 It\u2019s only Adam & The Ants classic \u2018Press Darlings\u2019 that doesn\u2019t really benefit from the Hip Priests rough n\u2019 ready, punk rock treatment for me.<\/p>\n

Just because this is a b sides compilation, it doesn\u2019t mean the quality has to suffer. \u2018Nihilist Twist\u2019 is a brutal, chanting 2 minute assault on the senses. \u2018Dead By Sunday\u2019 literally out \u2018copters The Hellacopters and \u2018I\u2019m In Exile\u2019 is all killer no filler. Wah-wah infused guitars fight with power chords as newest recruit Gentle Ben fills the right speaker and Austin the left, or is it the other way round? Who knows! But what I do know is the twin guitar attack sounds mighty.<\/p>\n

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27 singles, 3 EPs and 4 albums since their inception in 2007. It\u2019s true to say that \u2018Solid Gold Easy Option\u2019 is more than just a stop-gap collection of odds and sods to keep their fanbase happy until album number 5 drops later this year. This is a quality collection of songs from shit island\u2019s best-kept secret, and any self-respecting punk rock junkie should have it in their collection. The only trouble is do you choose green or blue vinyl?<\/p>\n

Buy ‘Solid Gold Easy Option’ Here<\/a><\/p>\n

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Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n