Ok kids, listen up, it’s time for a Crossfire history lesson – and a damn fine one at that. (Hell, I should know, this album came out the same year that I did). The Replacements were arguably one of the most gloriously ragged, untamed bands to hail from the fertile post-punk scene of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and now that those fine folks at Rhino Records have re-released the band’s first four albums, it’s about time that singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg and his merry men were given a re-appraisal.
‘Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash’ is the band’s 1981 debut, and it still sounds remarkably fresh by today’s standards. A haphazard concoction of Ramones-style punk rock vigour, squalling garage rock guitars and Westerberg’s raw-throated vocals, the likes of ‘Customer‘ and ‘Kick Your Door Down‘ are the work of a band that sound almost constantly on the verge of drunkenly collapsing. And therein lies their charm. That said, the Replacements were never just a bunch of booze-addled noise addicts, as proved by the sparse melody and plaintive vocals of ‘Johnny’s Gonna Die‘. Truly, if punk is unpredictable by nature, then this lot were about as punk as they come.
Have a listen to ‘Hangin’ Downtown‘ on the link above, and decide for yourself. You might also like to check out the other re-releases; ‘Stink’, ‘Hootenanny‘ and ‘Let It Be‘ – all with bonus tracks included. Not a bad deal, all told.
Alex Gosman
After 13 years in the rockNroll business, The Hellacopters have declared “Head Off” as their final mission and, to push the superlative, it’s very much a flight of fancy. The disc is entirely other bands songs given a shot of typically electrified hi-energy Stockholm rock treatment.
French producer Wax Tailor aka JC Le Saout is back with his second album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Tales Of The Forgotten Memories.
Whilst Grime was blowing up out of East London, spawning the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Lethal Bizzle into the mainstream, South London was busy bringing about an altogether darker affair. Forgoing the bright lights of the mainstream and easy to handle Grime beats, the likes of Skream, Benga and Loefah were trawling their way through the sludge to produce what became known as Dubstep.
Here we have the first four of a prospective six re-issues from UK Hardcore pioneers the Stupids, who came busting out of Ipswich in the mid-Eighties and totally nailed a new fresh sound on these shores with a formula that was very much under the influence of the harder faster Punk that was being hammered out across the pond in North America. And these guys totally nailed it with incredibly catchy and adrenalized songs that embraced skating, girls, b-movies, soft drinks, fast food… and general goofiness… and in turn helped set the blueprint for the US inspired Hardcore explosion that swept the UK underground in their wake.
When I heard that John ‘Speedo’ Reis from Rocket From The Crypt and Hot Snakes fame had started a new project and was back in the driving seat, I knew this record could possibly be a contender for album of the year. Why? Because his song writing skills and general vocal presence has always been an enjoyable experience and live, well, if you have never seen the above mentioned bands then you are lucky to have another chance, as live, Speedo comes as cool as ice.
In an old job I had years back this window cleaner came into the office. Bit of a geezer, the usual banter. He looks up at all of the punk posters on the wall. This was in the mid-90s and the PR company I worked for represented all of the US melodic punk labels at the time like Fat Wreck, Nitro and the Epitaph Records heavy-hitters.
Murder By Death‘s previous album ‘In Bocca Al Lupo‘ was an underrated, dark-hearted highlight of 2006, so here’s hoping that ‘Red Of Tooth And Claw‘ will gain them some much-deserved extra recognition. If you like your bands with grit under their fingernails, tales of liquor-stained hell weighing on their conscience, and a none-more-black sense of humour, then it’s high time you started paying attention to this lot.
Hailing from Sudbury, Ontario in Canada, Statues are your new favourite punk band, you just don’t know it yet. Part spiky, wiry Wire and Fall post-punk mixed with the classic US and UK punk sounds of The Replacements, Husker Du, Buzzcocks and The Undertones, Statues avoid the retro trap with an extra indie vibe that recalls the first Futureheads album.
A band that features a former member of Leatherface is always going to be a good bet if you’re on the lookout for high-quality, gritty punk rock. But in ‘Who’s Dead And What’s To Pay?‘ (an Old English saying that roughly translates as “What’s all the fuss about?”), David Lee Brandon and his fellow Sunderland cohorts have created a truly amazing record, without merely rehashing past glories.