October 2014 – Veglam

LESTER has been releasing records since the early 00s Euro glam punk wave, when his band The LANDSLIDE LADIES (later known as LESTER & The LANDSLIDE LADIES) used to share stages with international acts such as FASTER PUSSYCAT, BACKYARD BABIES or The VIBRATORS… More recently, LESTER hit European roads as a bass player for The BOYS‘ HONEST JOHN PLAIN, and since our Italian friend always has something to cook for us, he’s now back under his own name LESTER GREENOWSKI to offer us his first solo album wrapped up in a great looking colourful digipack.
On “It’s Nothing Serious Just Life”, LESTER mixed all his favourite styles, from glam punk (“Trail Of Graffiti”, “It’s Gonna Be Wrong”, “Ritalin Baby”, “Pussy Galore”…) to catchy sparkly power pop (“Such a Shame” or the CHEAP TRICKish “Angela (A Space Odyssey)”) and 70s glam rock’n’roll (“Electric Blue” and its cool sax hooks. The quality of the songwriting is impressive as usual, songs like “Beautiful”, “Carrie Nation” and its New Orleans touch, or “Say Bye Bye” could have been 70s classics, and the ending song “Bittersweet” is a powerful anthem full of melancholy.
If you’tre into The RAMONES, early KISS, CHEAP TRICK or AMERICAN HEARTBREAK, then big chances are you will love this album, and don’t trust the over, LESTER is not ready to shut up yet!/Laurent C.

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When you think about it, not many bands release live albums nowadays, but I’m sure most of you have one or two live records that you still really like. Live albums used to be cool, but could also be disastrous since it often meant the band in a recording studio with crowd overdubs… The EROTICS chose to make it their way and record with Don Fury (AGNOSTIC FRONT, GORILLA BISCUITS, HELMET, etc.) in a studio, but in front of an audience. You’ll find 18 songs from the band’s discography, including classics such as “Hellen Keller”, “Rock’n’Roll Killing Machine”, or “Death with a Heartbeat.”
Listening to “Preaching To The Choir” makes me wonder why The EROTICS are not bigger yet (… and they’ve been playing for a long time now, since the late 90s!). Indeed, their sleaze rock has everything fans of bands like WEDNESDAY 13 could like, and the band never sounded or looked like a tribute/revival 80s hair metal act, it never sounds dated.
You’ll find great live versions of songs like “Blast Off/I Love The Way You Hate Me”, “W.C.F.O.T.D.A.R”, “Last Of The Rock’n’Roll Motherfuckers”, or “I Think I Wanna Die Tonight” that show us that The EROTICS are still one of the best bands when it comes to mixing hard rock’n’roll to punk metal. Speaking of hard rock, AC/DC fans will enjoy the band’s version of “Walk All Over You.”
If you’re already a fan, then this live album will be a good addition to your collection, and if you haven’t heard them before, then it will be a great introduction to The EROTICS./Laurent C.