Backyard
Babies second full-length CD is pedal-to-the-metal mangle, hold on tight or
you'll fall off! Same line-up but a slightly different look, more glitter-punk
this time around which suits the sound of "Total 13" perfect. These
Nassjö natives are breaking some major territory with this release. Guitarist
Dregen is the posterboy of rock in Sweden and suddenly glam/punk is about as
cool as it can get. Isn't it funny how the more thing's change the more they
stay the same? These tendencies are long awaited among true fans of the aforementioned
genres.
I've followed the band from their first demos through the excellence of "Diesel
& Power" and their last e.p."Knockouts", their development
from a seventies influenced glamband towards more punk has been very pleasant.
Backyard Babies are the real thing, you can feel the vibe, these babies are
natural. The Sleeve and the layout of "Total 13" are an out-of-the-ordinary
visual experience. Totally mind blowing! It looks expensive but well spent,
with the right push from the record company Backyard Babies could be the leading
band of the forthcoming glitter/punk revival.
"Made me a Madman" is the opener most bands would kill for, it'll
blow your speakers. "U.F.O. Romeo", "Get Dead", "Let's
go to Hell" follow the same path, Social Distortion gone glitter. The first
single "Look at you" is the albums catchiest moment, not since the
Wildhearts prime has any band accomplished to combine sing-along melody with
such energy, in an effective way. "Subculture Hero" reminds me a bit
of D.A.D. while the moody "8-balled" leans more towards Dogs D'amour.
If "Diesel and Power" was a proper dinnerparty of Ramones, Iggy Pop
and Dogs D'amour, "Total 13" is a couple of hours later when some
of Ramones friends have gatecrashed the party and turned it into a ballroom
blitz. This release is much more punk than the previous which I personally think
is a step downhill but I won't sue for a divorce, I'll stick around as long
as these babies shot with this caliber. Great band, great songs and great attitude,
buy now or forever hold your piece!
Don't
we all love surprises? That's the thing about Christmas gifts, you don't know
for certain what's inside. You can feel, shake, listen and imagine but you never
know until you open it. Then you probably react with enthusiasm, apathy or disappointment,
depending on the substance. I thought I had a grip on the wonderful world of
glam then this glittergroup from San Francisco jumps right into my hand from
nowhere, grab my heart and don't let go until four songs later. I can't help
but rewind the tape and do the trip all over again.
Romeo's Dead are the best thing from San Francisco since the mighty Vain. A
combination of 70-glitterrock, punk and pop. Could it be better? Yes, it can
but this tape is very promising. "Starlit" is a glitterhit of the
nineties, tasty as bubblegum and just as sticky. Try to forget this memorable
refrain, you'll lose! "2000 Dolls" is similar but Zane Smith deliver
the vocals with a little more sleaze on this song.
"I Wanna Be Your Slave" is the heaviest and also the weakest song
on the tape, a filler to these ears. The verse is pretty ok but the refrain
hasn't that much glitter power. Closer "Stricken with You" is much
better and a potential classic among glamfans. I love backing vocals and rarely
has someone used it as good as Romeo's Dead does on this particular song. Great!
These four glampunks has made a very good tape and if this is the direction
they're going in, I'll follow just one step behind. Don't let this one pass
you by! Read an article in previous Glam & Glitzine.
Paradise
Alley holds the glamflag of UK high. This is their second release, following
their "Psychotic Playground". After some line-changes they're back
with more ammo than ever in their guns. This is 80's glam with lots of "oohhhhh's"
and "Na na na's", like a hybrid of Poison and Quireboys. If you miss
those days you'd better take a walk down Paradise Alley because it's just as
good a trip as memory lane.
Opener "Little Suzy" is a true glamhit, very commercial and good.
"Cryin'" is more Quireboys with it's harmonica and bluesy rhythms.
It's good to hear that some still knows the old trick. "Tell me Why",
"Mystery Girl" and "Walk it" is more sleazy hardrock. I've
actually got a little fed up at this time of the record, three similar songs
in a row, but the heartbreaking ballad "No time to cry" gives the
listener time to breath before it rocks hard again!
"Same old, same old" is glam the way we know it before it went underground,
very few bands are still playing this type of thing. Therefore Paradise Alley
certainly has a spot to fill, the 80's are coming back and the fans are waiting
and starving! By the time of "Don't say nothing" (track 8) I'm convinced,
"Heartbreakers and Homewreckers" is a very good album, one of the
best from the U.K in almost a decade (of course some have slipped my mind).
Go grab it!
This
NY foursome grabbed my attention some years ago with their unresistable gothic
glampunk, then came the dusk, they disappeared in the night... Now they're back
in the light of the moon, these vampires have quite a bite. It's not glampunk
anymore but more industry and there are still gothic parts. Names such as Sisters
of Mercy, Ministry and Marylyn Manson come to my mind. The image is still great,
vampires in latex. Really tasteful, makes you want to take a bite outta this!
"Spinning" is probably as close to a hit as Vampire Love Dolls ever
get, quite catchy but still original and therefore maybe to hard to swallow
for the masses but I'm sure that they're not aiming in that direction anyway.
"Acetone" is a grinding piece of gothic industry metal while "Angel
Lust Extacy" is almost funky at times. This isn't really my bag but I can't
help diggin' it a lot. Vampire Love Dolls are not for everyone (who is?) but
those who like it moody and metallic should contact them.
Finally
I've got Young & Fabulous! new hitsingle, "I get more pussy than Frank
Sinatra", in my hands. Totally tongue in cheek, the way Young & Fabulous!
usually deliver their goods. The release has been postponed due to legal trouble,
The Fabulous weren't allowed to use a picture of Frankieboy on the disc. The
final layout is a killer though.
"I get more pussy than Frank Sinatra" takes on where "The greatest
album in the history of music" left off. Glamrock with chanting backvocals
and plenty of hitpotential but what really sets Y&F apart from the pack
is their sense of humour. Nowadays when The Zeros seem the have taken a permanent
vacation, Y&F stand out as the funniest band around where every bandmember
has an own character. Just read the sleeve on their debutalbum and you'll find
out what I mean.
The New single is a really good song which might earn these Young ones some
major money. If you're into some serious stuff, Young & Fabulous aren't
for you but if you like to laugh loud to some great glam, you'd better check
this band out.
John
Tonic, the perfect refreshment and the path to salvation for people born in
bars and married with Mary, the bloody one that is. This German sleaze/trash
rock foursome started out in 1996 and this is the first songs I've heard of
them. It's very bluesy and it's very Dogs D'amour. Seldom has a band captured
the frustration and disillusion of people who drinks their dreams down the drain,
as good as John Tonic does.
This 3 track demo is full of trashy bluesy sleazerock, similar to the Dogs,
Rolling Stones and Hanoi Rocks. John Tonic has an identity which many of todays
band doesn't. They do their thing very well but must improve some parts to fill
an album, it's quite a step but I have no doubts that they are able to do it.
Alex (vocals & guitar) told me that John Tonic has got plenty of new songs
and are looking forward to record a CD. I can't wait!
As
the release of The Kowaliskis debut full-length CD is approaching it seems appropriate
to review their debut vinyl single "First Date". This was before the
incidents that caused the namechange to The Kowalskis. Fronted by female bubblepunk
Kitty Kowalski, the bands also contains Paul Richards (guitar), Greg Farah (drums)
and Jack Steeples (bass). The Kowalskis is bubblegumpunk set to blow the speakers
in every American suburb.
A-side
"First Date" is so catchy that even your dad might like it, which
is quite hard to accomplish but the Kowalskis succeed to combine pop with punk.
I can't help but wonder if there is a more dynamic marriage than that between
the beauty and the beast, pop and punk. I love it!
B-side is "Goodbye Daddy" is a similar gem, I guess The Runaways comparisons
are unavoidable.
This is an impressive first release and my expectations on their CD (reviewed
in next issue) are high. Available on Blackout! records.
I
believe it was around Christmas 1990 that I first heard Johnny Crash. Back then
MTV actually played good music (yes, it's true!) and it was there I first met
these LA sleazerockers. It was love at first sight. "Neighborhood Threat"
is classy sleaze, coming across like a poppier Ac-Dc. Snarling vocalist Vicki
James was formerly with Tokyo Blade but this is the relase where he really shines.
First song "Hey Kid" is excellent sleazepop, this should've been a
hit! "No Bones about it", "Axe to the wax" and my favorite
" All the way in", are all nice pieces of sleaze which will make old
Bon Scott smile in his grave.
"Thrill of the kill" is more bluesy and a lot slower, necessary to
get a a chance to breath. "Crack of Dawn" is another b song in the
vein of Cinderella. The rest of the album is not as good, "Freedom Road"reminds
me of early Whitesnake and "Halfway to Heaven" could be ZZ top if
they were raised in LA.
Like all the great glam/sleaze bands in the late eighties/early nineties Johnny
Crash suffered from a change in the musical climate. This was their one and
only chance to stardom, they world didn't let them take it. Too bad.
