To coincide with the Hard-Ons 2009 European tour, Boss Tuneage has released this 25 track disc that covers 25 years of these rockin’ Aussie reprobates. Yeah, 25 years, count ’em!
Their ’85 debut single, the primal 3 chord “Surfin’ on My Face“, kicks off this journey in time, and charts the evolution and progression of the young punks from Punchbowl into the fuck-heavy twisted beast of a band that are still treading the boards, blowing out Marshall cabs, and generally not giving two-shits for whatever is hip on the High Street. Not a chance!
Yeah, plenty of old favourites for Hard-Ons aficionados to get their teeth stuck in to on this collection with timeless sun kissed bubblegum pop like “Girl in The Sweater”, “Think About you Everyday”, “Just Being With You” and my all time favourite number of the era “Where Did She Come From?”, with “Suck ‘n Swallow” coming in a close second. As the collection builds momentum, and the years chip away, the power gets weightier and it’s cool to hear tracks from the early Nineties “Too Far Gone” album, which was ignored heavily at the time, but I dug massively, so “Notice Me” and “I Do I Do I Do” easily rock my planet.
Taking things bang up to date are tracks from their 3 most recent LP’s, including the hilarious “Race Track” (from 2003’s “Very Exciting”) and the ripping “Carrot Top” that opened up “Most People are Nicer Than Us”, the follow up to “Most People are a Waste of Time“…and song # 25 is a brand new number “Everyone Seems to be Out to Get You“… still doing it!
Pete Craven