As their name suggests, PUNKY TUNES started playing cover songs of their favourite punk rock/skate punk bands two years ago. At some point, the French band started writing their own songs and you’ll find some of them on this 6 song EP. “The Aftermath” has a strong NOFX influence while the very catchy “Punky Family” leans more to the street punk side. “Motivaction” and “Posi Care Bears Anthem” will remind you of 00s Californian pop punk and “Homopoliticus” mixes fast punk to melodic hardcore. The band sounds tight and singer Giada brings a fresh dose of energy to the songs. Moreover, old-school punks will be able to sing along to their good cover of 7 SECONDS‘ classic “Young ‘Til I Die”. This EP should definitely be on your summer list!/Laurent C.
::::::::::WIN PUNKY TUNES “We Are THe FUTURE” EP!!!!::::::::::::::
Answer the following question in the form below:
Two members of PUNKY TUNES played in a glam/glitter punk band in the 00s. What was the name of the band?
A band introducing themselves as “The Stooges and Roxy Music locked in a cell with a large amount of crystal methamphetamine and a massive battery of highly volatile explosives, trying to hold off the likes of the MC5 and the Spiders from Mars” can only get our attention, right? This californian gang offers us some highly explosive punk rock’n’roll indeed when listening to “Kill” or “Burn” and an elegant touch of glam rock in “Now” so they haven’t lied. MonoDeluX members have played in various bands such as FUNHOUSE, CIRCUS OF POWER, MINK DAGGERS, DRAMARAMA, GENE LOVES JEZEBEL and MISSING PERSONS so it can only help with creativity. Although the MonoDeluX has a strong punk’n’roll vibe (“Stalin'”, “Sigmund Freuder OverDrive” or “Franchise”), “Blacker Shade Of Blue” and “The Crown” lean on the sleaze rock side while you’ll find a touch of 70s tragic pop sensibility in “Alone”, a song that also has a bit of PULP in it. These guys also have the good taste to cover BOWIE‘s “Boys Keep Swinging” and it’s actually a very good version of the son ! “Time Wounds All Heels” a really good rock’n’roll album with good hooks and STOOGES guitars (“Shake It”) and that’s exactly what we all need right now! /Laurent C.
L’époque incite fortement à fantasmer les années 80. Cependant, le début de cette décennie était loin d’être le paradis pour les fans de rock et surtout de hard rock (genre encore marginal et mal aimé) en France. Les choses ont commencé à évoluer grâce entre autres à l’émission radio Wango Tango de Francis Zégut et à l’apparition de magazines tels que Metal Attack et Enfer Magazine. Rëquiëm est un fanzine réalisé en parallèle d’un travail universitaire sur les fanzines metal français et un hommage au mythique Enfer. Sixtine Audebert a retrouvé les principaux instigateurs qui racontent la création et les débuts épiques du magazine. Pour l’occasion, quelques albums d’époque (CINDERELLA, EXODUS, DOKKEN, ANTHRAX…) sont chroniqués et quelques anciens lecteurs (dont moi_même) se livrent dans la rubrique courrier et proposent leur top 5 sur la période Enfer (1983-1987.) En bonus, vous retrouverez quelques publicités à l’époque alléchantes de lieux parisiens tels que L’Indien ou Juke Box ! Un flashback métallique vers une époque où tout restait encore à faire et surtout vers un magazine qui aura ouvert grand les portes du temple hard rock à beaucoup d’entre nous. Petit mais costaud, Rëquiëm vous donnera en plus une féroce envie de ressortir vos vinyles d’époque ! /Laurent C.
KEVIN K gets heavier with this new album that was recorded in a cold basement in Detroit after living under the sun of Florida. Opening with a heavy metal guitar riff on “Broken”, Kevin then pays tribute to The LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH with a song of the same name made up of a collage of their lyrics. The garage sound gets even dirtier with “Wrong Way To Hell” and its nod to BLACK SABBATH and the mood turns heavier with “The Lost Seahorse.” You’ll also hear a tribute to 70s punk and rock’n’roll fallen heroes in “Prayers Of Life”, some ’77 punk (“Lonely Soul”) and some chaotic punk rock’n’roll with “On The Other Side”. The LORDS‘ ghost appear again in “Right Roulette” and things calm down a bit with the grungy instrumental “Winter 22” before going full SABBATH on “Catacomb Heart.” You’ll even hear some double bass drum on “Truth Is The Sword” and one of Kevin’s favourite covers : “Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth” (DEAD BOYS.) This is quite an adventurous album for KEVIN K who played all instruments on it. His black album for darker ages. /Laurent C.
British singer/songwriter INDYA started under the name Laudez Rose. This 10 song album could easily find its place in the dark pop category. “Too Goth To Handle” opens the album and sounds a bit like a punked-up GARBAGE with funky touches. “Leather N Lace” is a heavy rock song that take us to a more industrial territory and “Little Crush” has a bit of a “Government Hooker” (LADY GAGA) thing in it that will sure make you dance. Rock guitars and trip-hop rhythms sometimes flirt together (“Fill Me With Ya Love”) and a song like “I Wanna Be The One” could defninitely be a pop metal hit. You’ll also hear a bit of dub in the dance rock track “Raise Ya Vibration (feat. Israelite)” and some 80s rock with a a hip-hop part in “Ignite It (feat. Mc Neat.) “Wasted” and “Finish Her” both give classic rock a modern revamp while “Ferrari” ends this album with a rockin’ moshin’ vibe. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for new sounds with 80s and 90s references. /Laurent C.
So we got another gem by the always awesome Enuff Z’ Nuff. Those of us how have been following this band since forever know the whole story behind the ups and downs with the line up, and the never ending drama former (and very genius) singer Donnie Vie. Turns out that Chip and the boys have released 4 studio albums since Donnie’s departure (2018’s Diamond Boy, 2020’s Brainwashed Generation, 2021’s Hardrock Nite and this new adventure, “Finer than Sin”) I have said this before, and I’m gonna said this again. Back when Donnie left the band I had my doubts about Chip carrying on with the band’s name, I felt like literally half of the band I loved was not going to be there. It’s a curious thing when a trademark singer leaves a band, I can think of a lot of them that didn’t get away with it. This is not the case, as I’ve said it before. The songs in “Finer Than Sin” are equally as good as the ones that they used to out out with Donnie. The albums opens with an instrumental called “Soundcheck”, followed by “Catastrophe”, a Power Pop anthem about how drugs can destroy your life. Songs like “Steal The Night” can prove how much of an influence Cheap Trick was on this band, Enuff Z’ Nuff is my favourite band when it comes to bands influenced by the mighty Cheap Trick. The album is (again) filled with classic Hard Rock meets distorted Pop songs, so is the case of “Lost and Out Of Control” I believe the song I like the most here is “Intoxicated”, I understand this like an ode to sugar, if this is the case…then all I can say is that I feel really identified with this concept. “Hurricane” is a song about how fragile everything can be, especially depending on a system that instead of preaching peace, just asks for money. This one can be used as the perfect soundtrack for somebody who’s sick and struggling, while going bankruptcy at the same time. If “Love Grows (When My Rosemary Goes)” by “Edison Lighthouse” would have been released in the year 2022, it would have sounded a lot like “Trampoline”, a beautiful love song . “Temporally Disconnected” was written by Chip and Donnie Vie, it would been really cool to have a guest appearance by Donnie like they did in “Brainwahsed Generation” with “Strangers In My Head”, still, the song kicks ass. There’s a Sex Pistols cover here, “God Save The Queen”, it feels accurate and fun when Chip approaches a Punk Rock vibe. Again, this new lineup of Enuff Z’ Nuff is brilliant, their new album is huge and Chip continues to write big beatlesque hard rocking songs. As long as they keep releasing these albums, I’ll keep buying them. /Juan Pablo Mazzola.
I found out about RACHEL STAMP in 2001 when listening to this first official album I got from an Italian glam friend. “Hymns For Strange Children” was released in February 2000 and here it is coming back again in 2023 like the rebirth of glitter! I remember listening to “Monsters Of The New Wave”and thinking it was very original with its disco drums, new wave synths and second verse made up with KISS song titles! I was playing in SPARKLING BOMBS at the time and once in London with singer Alice, we saw a few RACHEL STAMP shirts in Camden and pictures in magazines which was all a bit confusing since it seems like just a few people outside the UK knew who RACHEL STAMP was! Why? They had the looks, the songs, the musicianship, the energy and the mystique. “Brand New Toy” and “Dirty Bone”are powerful enough to appeal to garage punk rockers or MARILYN MANSON fans, “I Got The Worm” and “Pink Slab” are fabulous heavy rock tunes and “I Wanna Be Your Doll” is catchy enough to be a hit blinking at IGGY & The STOOGES. Speaking of catchy, just listen to “Ladies & Gents”! While the world was still drowning in nu-metal, RACHEL STAMP‘s raw production was just simple, straight to the point and powerful which is why it actually stood the test of time. The album has been remastered but I think the original version would have been just fine too. Yes, the band should have been huge, their song “Didn’t I Break My Heart Over You” proves it every time you listen to it. The pop sensibility in RACHEL STAMP has always been one of their strong features and you can hear this in songs like “Take A Hold Of Yourself” and “My Sweet Rose.” The CD version comes out with 6 bonus tracks including live recordings (a speed-up version of JOHNNY KIDD AND THE PIRATES “Please Don’t Touch”, the hard rock tinged “Girl, You’re Just A Slave To Your Man”, the bluesy “Black Tambourine” and a cover of the country classic “Carmelita.” Back in London, one or two years after I started listening to RACHEL STAMP I bought their second album “Oceans Of Venus” at Tower Records and the question remained “Why aren’t they huge rockstars?!?” Anyway, now I need the vinyl version of “Hymns For Strange Children”! /Laurent C.
Hyperactive musician JOE NORMAL has finally put most of his singles together on one album. “Small Town Factory”, “Bayway Refinery” and “Living In The Borough” pay homage to his hometown Elizabeth, New Jersey mixing nostalgia and blue collar stories. “Setback” offers us an interesting mix of blues and electronic percussions while “New England Girl” offers us some well-arranged romantic pop. On the other hand, you’ll hear a touch of sadness in “I Ain’t No” and in “Warinanco Pond” as well as a bit of psychedelism in “Is It My Imagination”. The BEATLES influence is quite obvious when listening to these songs especially in “Ya Gotta Open Your Heart” or in “The Usung Heroes That Time Never Knew”. Joe describes is music as Glamericana and that’s quite a good word for it when you listen to “Summer Jobs” or “We Are The Normal”. Former ZEROS member is now turning into a working class hero, make sure you listen to this album. /Laurent C.
Veglam 