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[rating:2.5/5]
I don’t generally review singles, but ok, here’s a go at it. Freak Show by The Smears. This all female punk / rock and roll trio hearkens back to the RIOTGRRL sounds of the 90’s ala L7, 7 Year Bitch and Bratmobile. The difference being that The Smears are from Nottingham (you know, like the sheriff)
The music is solid three chord punk; rhythmically choppy, a bit staccato, if you will. The vocals are of the speak-as-sing variety and production-wise the feel is very garage / lo-fi. It certainly isn’t bad, but I’d really have to listen to more to make a more informed opinion.
–Jerry Actually
The end of the Cold War brought many things. For the West, a long hard battle was won. For the East, doors to unfamiliar lands and individual commerce were opened. Along with that came new freedoms. For instance, the freedom to rock! Flash forward a couple decades and the culmination of the good fight has finally been realized.
Here’s a headline: Bristol’s Bolsheviks’ Bring It! … “Ok”, you say, “smart guy”. “What is it that these Bolsheviks are bringing?” Well sir, it’s the muthafukin’ rock and roll for one and for two refer to number one. Seriously though, Action Reaction, the new CD from The Bolsheviks is hard to place but hard to put down at the same time. It is an eclectic mix of sound. I hear flashes of spacial sounding guitars ala Voivod and hard driving bass lines akin to Hogan’s Heroes. Hell they even remind me a bit of the Cadillac Tramps on track 6 “Stole My Name”. With all that is a crazy mash up of haunted house psychobilly grooves and an undeniable mod rock Clash factor. Though in all fairness I have no idea if these blokes ever listened to either of those bands, I do know there is a bit o’ psycho in ’em. The Bolsheviks formed in 2005 from the remnants of bands such as Lux, Rout and Misdormeanour. The wide-ranging prior influences of the collective memebers comes together for what works out to be a damn good CD. Apparently the band forewent any digital recording on the CD and went full analog. This decision lends well to the rather basement dwelling / garage haunting vibe that Action Reaction is all about. 11 tracks that combine punk, rock, psycho and and a strong retro vibe. If you can find them on this side of the pond, by all means do. Otherwise I suggest packin’ up the fam and moving to jolly ol’ England to catch some of this.
Fire the guns and Roll the Tanks! Here’s the new disc from (now) L.A. based band Roll the Tanks. Suffer City is the sophomore effort from the band. Originally from the Boston area, the band now contends with sunshine and smog. I’m not familiar with the bands prior work, but what I’m hearing on the new disc is enjoyable so far. What you get is 11 tracks of somewhat unique sounding punkish rock somewhere between The Clash and Modest Mouse. In all honesty, I’m rushing through this, but for real I do like what I’m hearing. It (the disc) has a distinct early 80’s vibe to it. I’d even go so far as to say I’ll listen to it again.