Labels: Static Shock
Review by: Norrie Sills
Wow! Looking at the cover of this LP it all looks a bit thrown together and stuck down with pritstick. Photo of a couple of muscle men on the front cover pasted over a Paisley pattern type back ground, on the back three random photos of the band members, and when I say random I mean they couldn’t have given it less thought or at least that’s what they want us to think. One of the photos is in colour, the drummer, it’s a really badly taken photo it could be anyone in the photo. The other two photos are better (just slightly better) but only because of luck. There is also a cut out picture of Donna Summer with a speech bubble with the words “I Feel Love.” It doesn’t give so much the impression that it’s been thrown together but rather that it has been thrown together by someone with a deranged and thought disordered mind who has limited himself to 2 minutes to put it together. The reason I mention it as there is something about it that made me immediately know that this was going to be something very special. As soon as the needle hit’s the groove it’s blast off. Sends all the other records and tapes reeling. 77 type punk rock which is so immediately gratifying, it’s hard to believe that you’ve not grown up with this in your collection. The most obvious comparisons will be to bands like The Damned and The Buzzcocks and not so much because they sound like them but because they are as good as them. Their influences are clearly in 77 London but with the best of any bands it is clear that they listen to everything and anything. The vocals are strong and distinctive, sounding like a mix of The Adicts’ Monkey and a snotty Damon Alburn on speed with a dash of The Cardiacs and Jazz Coleman to throw you off. The tunes are catchy as herpes in winter. It’s not pop punk, it’s catchy pogo punk. Not one bad track on here but stand outs for me were DO YOU THINK YOU’VE FOUND LOVE, SETTLING IN, JUST YOU WAIT, THE WAIT, TOUCHING GOD. Lyrically great too, gallows humour, snotty, sarcastic and challenging. In summary : Fucking Great Record buy it before NME destroys it for you.