Monday 30 January 2012

X-Ray Cat Trio - Hail, Hail EP


Leeds’ finest psychobilly/rockabilly band X Ray Cat Trio have finally gotten round this month to putting out an EP after a long time spent gaining a strong fan base by dint of their frantic live performances – there’s a good chance if you frequent Leeds shows, that you’ll have seen them in a cramped  dive bar or sweatpit venue. As such, they have a fairly extensive back catalogue to choose from, but this record is short, sweet and none the worse for it – four tracks of surf tinged psychobilly and rock and roll that tips its hat to early Tiger Army (before the turn to sub-Morrissey drivel) alongside older stars in the rockabilly canon. The title track (which some of you may have heard accompanying one of the montages on the recent DVD that came with Sidewalk magazine) opens the record, with a big shout-a-long chorus and a breakneck pace, before slowing down towards the end into a chugging reprise which punctuates the song nicely. The rest of the EP does nothing to let up, and each song continues with well-crafted harmonies, talented musicianship and a swaggering, whiskey redolent air that makes you wish you were sitting in a bar with a shot and beer chaser. A strong opening shot from these lads, looking forward to hearing more!
4/5
Jono

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Filaments, Jakal, Stand Out Riot and Skets @ Purple Turtle, 14/01/2012

For anyone who never got the chance to see The Filaments first time round, the fact that they're back with new material and as noisy as ever is excellent news. After seeing them with Capdown at the end of last year, this was their first London gig of 2012 and it was sold out as well. With the prospect of £2.50 pints in the air, things could only end well!

Of course, due to London transport being generally shite on weekends, we missed the Skets and most of Stand Out Riot. We caught a bit of the latter's set though, and they're definitely a band worth checking out. I'd wanted to get there to see their set but never mind. They've been described as "like watching Zebrahead if they were fronted by Spongebob", or Gogol Bordello meets Streetlight Manifesto. The Gogol Bordello comparisons are probably simply due to the fact there's a violin thrown into the mix, but due to the lack of violins in ska punk these days I've deemed that it can only be a good thing.

Jakal were up next and the place was getting fuller by the second. If anyone listened to the Shot in the Foot comp we put out a while back then you'll know that Jakal's track 'Junkyard' was on there. They didn't play that but played a good mix of punk-reggae tracks from their repertoire. They seemed to get a bit of a mixed reaction from the crowd which was a shame, although that could be down to the bouncers chucking someone out for lighting up a spliff and generally throwing their weight around. I liked their set though, so that's all that matters for the purpose of this review. They're regulars on the London gig scene so no doubt they'll pop up in another review soon.

Finally the Filaments took to the stage. They'd promised a mix of old and new songs and that's exactly what we got. The sound was spot on for them, and opening with BPC just set the tone for the rest of the set! They ripped through most of What's Next and Skulls and Trombones with the same amount if not more aggression than ever before. I don't remember a lot of the titles to their new tracks but they fit into the set perfectly and, apart from a couple of false starts, seemed as though they'd played them for years. One new track that especially stood out for me was 'Statistic' which will presumably be on their new album. The only track missing from their set was Bastard Coppers, but when all was said and done they played all you needed to jump around, spill your beer, and sing at the top of your lungs. They also brought up the point that we still need to fight the facists - check the link at the bottom of the review.

All in all an excellent night and hopefully with the release of a new album plenty more Filaments shows to come this year!

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/01/491006.html

Monday 16 January 2012

The Slackers - The Radio


If you’ve ever seen New York’s finest ska exports The Slackers live, you’ll know that they’re not afraid to throw a few covers into their set – this wearing of hearts on sleeves being part of their soulful charm. As such a full album of covers is not an unexpected move, although some of the choices are. The album kicks off with live favourite, ‘Attitude’ by the Misfits, and works just as well here as it does in a sweaty dive venue; they’re probably the only band who could attempt a ska/soul version of this song, but with Glen Pine’s voice it works brilliantly. Remember in the early years of the millennium, when bad ska punk bands made themselves even less bearable by churning out ‘zany’ covers of cheesy pop songs? Well there’s none of that here, and the band’s laid back rocksteady reworking of ‘Like a Virgin’ is a straight up homage to the ageing ‘queen of pop’, before the band launches into a full on ska version of the Sonics’ classic ‘Strychnine’. As much as I hate picking out one particular album track as a highlight, within two listens this is already one of my favourite Slackers’ songs, it fucking swings and I defy you not to dance!
      This is followed by a duo of sixties soul classics inflected with a classic Slackers swing sound; the Four Tops Motown hit ‘Reach Out (I’ll Be There)’ and the Box Tops’ much covered ‘The Letter’. This nod to the band’s soul roots is followed by another surprise choice, in the form of Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ played with a soulful precision, and then another 60s hit, Wayne Fontana’s ‘Game of Love’. Next up is a cover of ‘Ganbare’ by Japanese pop punk group the Blue Hearts; I couldn’t comment on the original as I’ve never heard it, but here it’s a great piece of ska oddness. The album begins drawing to a close with two songs which bring to the fore a 70s rock influence – ‘Jeepster’ by T Rex and the Rolling Stones ‘Bitch’. Of these two the latter is by far my preference, but then I can say the same of the originals. A dubbed out remix of Jagger and co.’s swaggering blues number is a stroke of genius, as is the final track; Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Volunteer’, played fairly faithfully in comparison to the rest of the record.
      Covers albums are always going to be a risky proposition, with the possibility of grave-turning analogies always close to the fore; but with ‘The Radio’, The Slackers have shown that they can ably rise to the challenge and do justice to an eclectic collection of classics. I cannot recommend this album highly enough if you have any interest in music in general!
5/5
Jono

Sunday 8 January 2012

Dry Heaves - Loose Tongues EP


This new year’s ever, a few of us were celebrating in the time honoured fashion of lurking at spit and sawdust pub in Sheffield while three of Yorkshire’s finest hardcore acts kicked off the new year in style. As this was the release show for the Dry Heaves’ new EP, Loose Tongues, the stroke of midnight saw 2012 start not with a girl, but with a fresh slab of vinyl in my grubby paws; and I have to say, the first proper release from this Sheffield powerhouse does not disappoint! Puke yellow vinyl is always a treat, and the Pogger Jord drawn sleeve is definitely in keeping with the bands aesthetic – no fucking around, you know what yer buying in to from the start. Heavy-as-a-feedee, slightly dirgey hardcore punk that got my head nodding like a stoner at a Sabbath show, this is definitely a front runner for record of the year. The first side consists of three songs. The title track makes no concessions to breaking you in gently, sounding like vintage Circle Jerks on Tramadol, before ‘Play it Safe’ brings a slight Devoto-era Buzzcocks influence to the table – which makes sense, as I’m pretty sure I remember hearing a Buzzcocks’ cover at a couple of early shows? ‘What’s Wrong With Me’ blends hardcore with stoner riffs to put a fucking heavy full stop to the A-side.  The B-side only features two songs; ‘Tontine’, the high point of the record for me, with a heavy Angry Samoans influence which is no bad things; and ‘Paranoia’, with a similar sound but the addition of a shoutalong chorus that brings to mind the Restarts. This EP is a short, sharp wake-up call to anyone sleeping on the bustling hardcore scene in Yorkshire at the moment, can’t recommend this more highly!
5/5
Jono