{"id":17028,"date":"2021-11-09T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=17028"},"modified":"2021-11-06T20:01:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T20:01:55","slug":"lars-frederiksen-to-victory-e-p-pirates-press-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=17028","title":{"rendered":"Lars Frederiksen \u2013 \u2018To Victory\u2019 E.P (Pirates Press Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Having just completed a run of US shows with Rancid, along with the recording of his first album as guitarist with The Last Resort punkaholic Lars Frederiksen has somehow managed to squeeze a few more hours into his rock \u2018n\u2019 roll day to finally deliver his debut solo release, the six track EP \u2018To Victory\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by a pre-lockdown sold out solo show in Oakland, \u2018To Victory\u2019 is a continuation of that show\u2019s format and as such is very much in the style of one of Frederiksen\u2019s heroes, Billy Bragg. It\u2019s a one-man-gang kind of release, with the track listing featuring two songs each from The Old Firm Casuals and Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards all reworked to fit the stripped-down solo format along with a couple of choice cover versions making for a very interesting listen indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s back to 2016\u2019s \u2018Butcher\u2019s Banquet\u2019 EP originally recorded by The Old Firm Casuals for \u2018God And Guns\u2019 to get the acoustic party started and here devoid of any drums the track still somehow pounds along at a fair old pace, and yeah whilst I may long for a drummer to help the track fully kick in, the piano and bass touches that complement the arrangement really do work well within the context of this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, \u2018Army of Zombies\u2019 originally from Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards self-titled 2001 released album, which also works particularly well due to a truly magical sprinkling of organ and piano which lifts the track out of merely sounding like a very well recorded acoustic demo up into a whole new sonic universe come the chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the two cover versions on offer Lars\u2019 version of UK Subs \u2018Tomorrow\u2019s Girl\u2019 is the one that makes absolute sense (seeing as Lars was briefly in the band back in the early nineties) and here for the first time on the EP the song is driven by Lars\u2019 trusty Gibson SG. Something that continues into the monster chug of \u2018Motherland\u2019, originally from The Old Firm Casual\u2019s 2019 released \u2018Holger Danske\u2019 album. Now, I\u2019ve always thought Frederiksen had more than a hint of Paul Stanley in his voice on the chorus of the original of this track and here it\u2019s even more evident. Surely Lars would never admit to being a KISS fan though, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Err wrong, because the second of the covers is actually a mighty fine rendition of \u2018Comin\u2019 Home\u2019 originally from that band\u2019s 1974 classic \u2018Hotter Than Hell\u2019 album, albeit here it\u2019s got more in common with the version the shock rockers did for their 1995 MTV Unplugged show. It\u2019s certainly the bravest of song choices on \u2018To Victory\u2019 and may even win Lars some new fans in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to the electric guitar for an EP closing run through of Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards\u2019 \u2018Skunx\u2019, I can\u2019t help but think that having recorded a beefed-up cover of Billy Bragg\u2019s \u2018To Have And Have Not\u2019 on their self-titled debut album this version of \u2018Skunx\u2019 could actually be Bragg\u2019s payback cover if he were ever up to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released via Pirates Press on 19th<\/sup> November on vinyl, CD, cassette and online \u2018To Victory\u2019 is something that seriously has the legs to run as a whole new concept for Lars Frederiksen outside of that solo pre-lockdown gig that started all of this, just him, his guitar and a whole lot of stories certainly makes for an interesting proposition indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/larsfrederiksenofficial<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/larsfrederiksenmusic.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLars Frederiksen – To Victory 12" EP \/ CD \/ Cassette<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.plastichead.com\/item.aspx?catno=PPR301LP<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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