EPOXIES - EPOXIES

'Need More Time' opens up this excellent debut CD that drips with futuristic syntho-technology and electro-force energy. The first track brandishes a beautiful individuality that almost literally makes the listener salivate for more. But is there a Kim Wilde sound to it perhaps - or is it just me? Either way its a great way to start an album and sets a great standard that is equalled throughout. The ensuing melodies all have a refreshing sound that is noticably reminiscent of Devo but is a milliom light years more advanced in terms of end product. Roxy Epoxie has a fine voice and is a perfect partner for the electrified backbeat with 'We're So Small' and 'Cross My Heart' highlighting this fact to a tee. For me one of the main successes of the Epoxies is the upbeat flavour that is subtly sobered by a sadness of inflection in voice and lyric which results in a paradoxical pleasure of the highest order. A real top notch effort here from a band destined for a very successful future that I hope retains its charming innocence and doesn't go too commercialised.

2 SICK MONKEYS – FULL FLAVOUR BEHAVIOUR

Another spirited offering from 2SM which opens in a raw edged style with the turbulent ‘Time’ which has the Monkey’s showing an ability to construct songs of both unique approach and sound.  ‘Bodybag’ is a nasty slaughterhouse affair that the lover of the rough house mix will take extreme pleasure from.  It’s a harsh cacophony that works well as does track 3 which again has raucous vocals and an unprocessed musical accompaniment.  For me both tracks are adequate but could be enhanced with a greater clarity of vocal.  Maybe this would destroy the whole hard edge but is a personal preference and shouldn’t be taken as authoritative gospel.   Despite this tame criticism the ensuing instrumental, namely ‘TST’, is a real good dance mash and has a definite psychobilly sound that will appeal to the wider audience.  ‘Retro Age’ is the finale of another good offering from 2SM who are always worth checking out regardless of being a seemingly acquired taste.

APOCALYPSE BABYS – ALCOHOLAHAUST

A full-on intro starts an album that has every nook and cranny cram packed with nostalgia cum retro moments that any authority on punk, in all its guises, will find admirable.  This is an outfit that is unafraid to experiment as well as call upon the mental punk archives and all its choice cuts.  This is quintessential punk rock of a very high standard with many a fine tune done justice by the vocals of Asterix and the playing of the rest of the crew.

The ‘UK Subs’ tribute is one Charlie would savour, ‘Ain’t My Kind Of People’ is an anthem for the outsider and anti-social ‘erbert, ‘Dirty Bomb’ is a raw edged must that picks up the pace and ‘Punk Lite’ is a real poser as regards some of the watered down commercial shite that gets palmed off as punk.  It’s all there and in grand style too.  You can’t help but feel though that if the AB’s would have been performing since 77 we would be talking about one of the real shakers in the scene today.  I for one feel they still deserve more recognition than they get and deserve some damn good sales of their albums to win more fans.  This one is another classic so get your grubby mitts in your pockets and buy this excellent piece of punk rock product.

EPOXIES – STOP THE FUTURE

Already convinced that we are dealing with a truly memorable band the opening track of this album, ‘Radiation’ hammers home this belief as for me its one of the best opening songs I have ever heard.  A techno-punk rock melody that is instantaneously catchy without the throw away appeal of lesser efforts.  Production wise a masterpiece throughout with Roxy Epoxie displaying a vocal maturity and distinctness that has a strength to compete with the busy musical backdrop.  ‘This Day’ follows and is a bop-o-matic joy that is swiftly followed by the fabulously executed ‘Synthesized’ which gradually builds in confidence and ends up a beauty.  ‘Robot Man’ becomes more punked up and has a great elusive and addictive chorus that hits all the aural erogenous zones with pure skill.  On and on it goes with one syntho-epic after another displaying a wonderful array of flamboyance, alteration of pace and diversity of sound.  This album drips with many an obvious influence be it deliberate or unknowingly but the beauty lies in the fact that all songs are so craftily blended and have an abundance of personality so has to give the Epoxies their very own sound.  This is a marvellous effort and a precious relief to hear something different and challenging.   ‘Everything Is Beautiful On Video’, the almost instrumental ‘Stop The Future’ and ‘It’s You’ are other splendid highs from a very special album indeed.

THE SCABS - GUTTERSCUM

The ideal way to sum up the Cumbrian chaos squad, The Scabs, would be to liken them to a television programme.  But which one would they be?  For bands like The Bullet Kings then it would easy and have to be ‘You Are What You Eat’ because it’s full of fat bastards.  Sorry lads but its just irresistible.  The Scabs however would be definitely ‘World in Action’.  A retro hard-hitting documentary that was full on in its dealings with current issues that society in general turned a blind eye to.  The cold, harsh delivery of angst ridden melodies is genuine and never was it more obvious that punk is a dish best served raw.  Here we have an excellent concoction of flavours to satiate the ravenous lover of gutter borne delicacies.  ‘Gutterscum’, ‘Generation Terrorism’ and the outstanding ‘Blades Beat Fists’ are the pick of the crop with all tracks of an individual stature all unto themselves.  The only small criticism is a few more miles added to the speedometer may increase the venom levels and improve the whole package, however this may be a trifle pedantic and shouldn’t detract from a six track stunner.  Roll on an album.

DANCE HALL TROOPS VOL 2 - DVD/CD COMPILATION

A massive 42 tracks make up the enclosed compilation CD and if that wasn't enough there's a DVD with approximately 40 songs of punk rock performers to boot. Dance Hall Troops offers a great opportunity to catch up with old faves as well as hear some less familiar bands spouting their stuff. The balance of old, new and the unheard is tricky but as with most new compilation releases this one captures all in equal measure and serves up a darn fine listen. 'AFS', 'Kamikaze Sperm', 'Radiators' and 'Radio Dead Ones' contribute some really good stuff to a excellent CD that has a definite longevity of listening due to both quantity and quality. The DVD has some real bootleg quality stuff on it and for what it may lack in visual standard makes up for in its peephole view into the everyday gigging world of punk bands. There's some real obscure stuff here worthy of any collectors vault. 'US Bombs', 'The Briefs', 'Lars and the Bastards', 'TV Smith' and 'Texas Terri' are cuts that speak for themselves with a whole load more thrown in. Great stuff really and the question remains as to 'How did I miss Volume 1'.

BOREDOM AD – DEMO

The initial demo from Boredom AD who are basically the old Blackburn based band minus Danny the singer who has been replaced by Brian ‘Slutcher’ Barnes of Slutch and UK Subs infamy.  This is a basically ‘feeler’ production just produced as a taster and tester for fans and reviewers alike.  Mainly it is a 3 track affair with some rough house recordings added on a trial basis.  ‘Vincent Price’ opens up and is delivered well and tunefully with Barnsey doing a good job on vocals and shining through despite the primitive recording.  ‘Lowlife 07’ is a re-hash of an old classic as are the other 2 but still retains enough of a novel edge to make it refreshing and maintain interest.  A good job is done here too and the finale of the trio is ‘All About me’ which has Brian at his piss-taking egocentric best with lines about ‘sticking needles in his eyes and removing his teeth with pliers’ adding solid entertainment value.  The rest of the songs are ruined due to bad production but the quality of song construction and delivery is there with the old Slutch classic ‘Jackie’ much worthy of a better studio finish.  Barnsey has his critics regarding his vocal ability but personally I find it spirited and refreshing with an abundance of energy thrown in for good measure.  He has a good stable band behind him here who certainly know how to deliver a good melody or two and provided Boredom AD do themselves justice during production  before releasing their debut CD they should make great strides on the punk rock circuit.

NO EAGER MEN - I'M BORED

In a moment of indifference it would be easy to describe this as a piece of easy listening throwaway pop punk. In truth it is a very easy listen and is in fact pop punk but throwaway? Not a chance! This is a light and heady mix of youthful lyrics and bop-along guitar riffs that is a lively affair of a very good standard. 'I'm Bored' opens up proceedings and is a real jig 'n' swig fest that you just can't shake off. 'The Way You Are' is the next track and is equally uplifting in tempo and has such a clarity and organistaion as to make this and the aforementioned ditty simply glide along on their own skillful charm. I can't help but make comparisons to a Briefs/Ramones hybrid which in itself is a compliment but there is enough personal influence here to make this a valid effort in its own right. The trio ends with 'Out At The Front' which is the weakest of the 3 songs and yet is far from awful but lacks the rat-a tat tat punch of the first two. A very promising offering from a band of blatant potential. Mental note - must check out soon.

MOST LIKELY TO FAIL - KILLING TIME

A two track single here from one of the best bands around as regards song composition and delivery. Wow - what a couple of wonderful songs we have here with a quality of execution, catchiness and downright pleasure of equally high standard. Ok so one track's a cover, namely Bad Religions' 'American Jesus' - but what a cover. For anyone taking on a Bad Religion cover you must have belief - to outstrip the original you need some fuckin' good musicians - here we have both. To be honest I would have to delve very deep into my personal abyss of punk knowledge to find a better cover version. Class. The other track of this dynamic duo is the opener which is far from overshadowed by the BR effort. In fact it rivals the other song in all areas and just reinforces the fact that we are dealing with a very accomplished and underrated band here. I always try and remain constructive and positive during all reviews and summing up processes and that can sometimes be a testing option. Not so here! On this evidence it is more than a pleasure to review a piece of work of such remarkable brilliance. This bunch must surely be destined for greater things and with care and the same attention to detail are set to produce a sackful of classics. Every reason we music lovers can't stop is engrained within this brace of spirited tracks and you should check these geezers out as soon as possible.

HOLY PARACHUTE – WHAT DID BROCCOLI EVER DO TO YOU?

Through curiosity I checked out 4 ska bands recently and came away mighty impressed.  One of the bands was Holy Parachute and a CD was sent to me for review.  The bonus for me was uncovering such a brilliant piece of work that should be dragged from potential obscurity and given as much praise as possible.  This is a perfect advertisement for ska as well as justifying my solid belief in going to seek out new talent and pushing the overlooked underdog.  For sheer production and construction of song this has got to be one of the best CD’s of 2006.  It drips with talent and highlights the quality of bands out there so many of us can miss by being tied up watching the same old favourites rather than seeking new listening material.

From first to last I love this CD and highly recommend it to anyone unrestricted by musical boundaries.  The first 2 tracks namely ‘All I Need’ and ‘Save Me’ are just up-tempo feel good songs that really set a pace that lesser bands would fail to equal.  Luckily The Holy Parachute know their stuff and follow with another 3 tracks that are brilliance incarnate.  The overall ambience is of a happy-go-lucky, easy listening party that just bams and slams with youthful, effervescent joy and for me that’s all it need be.  The undulating brass section adds a glorious touch. Class and if I don’t get to review all future recordings I will be a severely disappointed ‘erbert.  Oh and the cartoon graphics on the cover are great stuff too.