Every day is Halloween for Swedish horror rockers The DAHMERS and that’s what you’ll hear in opening song “On Halloween”, a 60s garage influenced song with hardcore backing vocals. “Bats Need Friends” starts like a surf rock tune before turning into a high-energy powerpop song while “Black Widow” almost sounds classic rock with its glammy handclaps and early KISS vibe but the bridge takes you right into a psych-gothy land. The last track of the EP, “The Ghost Of Roy Orbison” is pure 60s that will make you smile and want to listen to some more. Horror can be fun indeed. /Laurent C.
NASTY REPUTATION have been around for a while now since they started in 2007 but had to face many line-up changes. They released their sleaze rock single “Slut Machine” a few months ago and here they are now with a full album under their arm. “Line Of Fire” has this Swedish hard rock vibe that is now famous around the world while “Riot In Hell” is leaning towards the glory days of NWOBHM. “Suicide” slows things down and offer us more melody in the chorus but that’s just before “After All It’s Rock’n’Roll” takes us right to the Sunset Strip! “Hit On You” shows us a more heavy metal side of the band before the very arena rock “These Times.” I personally like it better when the band gets wilder with a song like “Freeride” or “Wild at Heart.” Definitely worth checking out! /Laurent C.
These dudes are probably a lot more rah rah go team, flag waver, conservative than I am, but man, oh man, here is a song with an actual poignant and valid message, opposing the ever-tightening narrative control, severely limited playlists, and incrementally vanquished sound of rebellious, heartfelt music from your tv and radios. This ain’t punk rock, but there’s a sincere and meaningful message being conveyed, and you never hear that anywhere, anymore. At least not in the USA! USA! Like Willie Nelson sang in his timeless anthem, “Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth”, you won’t hear no message of love or truth on tv or radio, that’s not consolidated media’s function. At least not since since Bush/Cheney dismantled the Bill Of Rights and Obama told folks that it’s woke and classy to censor all independent voices, and they consolidated the mass media into 5 bully pulpit propaganda loudspeakers of the Davos billionaire super rich. These diehard spandex wearers called Crazy Lixx will remind oldsters of Ratt and Skid Row and they are singing a righteously rousing hairspray metal, protest anthem(!!!) about rocknroll being taken off the public airwaves and replaced with: phony, no soul techno, capitalist greedhead designer brand rap bullshit, and occultist hip-pop, the never ending and relentless glorification of a dystopian police state and forever wars based on lies for oil companies and surveillance tech scumbags and weapons manufacturers. I dig it! Back comb your hair! Singalong! /General Labor.
It’s officially summer so it might be the right time for a pop punk release and Monster Zero Records know it all about this! RANDELLS offer us quite a catchy opener with “Kicks” and potential beach hit “Pick Me Up.” Of course you’ll find your usual RAMONES riff (“I Can’t Make It In The Bedroom”) but “Holiday In The Sun” is not a SEX PISTOLS cover, more of a melancholic Californian punk tune with a cool little surf rock guitar part. The Swedish power trio also has its hardcore-ish moments with “I Don’t Wanna Be A Deadbeat” and “El Mundo Loco” but also chews bublegum in “Karen” and “Gum In My Hair.” “I don’t Wanna Go” is a pleasant surprise on this album since it offers us some kind of ’77 punk rock’n’roll from outer space. The bands sings about “The End Of The Summer” with BEACH BOYS backing vocals and then you realize the album is already over. It can’t be a bad sign. /Laurent C.
This is the second EP of this Swedish band. They play pop punk the way it used to sound on Lookout! Records in the early 00s, but this 7″ is out on Monster Zero Records (based in Austria.) They don’t try to change the world, or even the style, but they do it really well, with youthful energy and passion. You can hear this in songs like “Stupid World” or “Out Of Order.” “Done With You” has a bit of a ’77 punk flavour although it has more to do with skateboards than heroin chic.
If you’re like me and don’t really listen to this style these days, just give this 7″ a try, because these guys definitely know what they are doing! /Laurent C.
DEMONS are no new-schoolers since they started around 1994/1995 in Sweden, when HELLACOPTERS, TURBONEGRO, BACKYARD BABIES and GLUECIFER were just starting to put rock’n’roll back on the map.They now have more than 20 releases in their bag (including 3 albums on Gearhead Records) and are offering us 12 new songs on Alaska Productions/God’s Candy Records. It seems like time didn’t really have any influence on the band since DEMONS are playing high-energy rock’n’roll they way it has to be played. While “Baphomet Griefs” or “Bad Neighborhood” sound like good classic punk rock’n’roll, “Mojo Rojo” or “Hemisexual” have a healthy dose of punk craziness in them. You’ll get to hear some catchy choruses in “Kids Are Gonna Cry” and more melody in “Mean Street Beat” and “Standing in for Joy”, reminding a bit of SOCIAL DISTORTION. Not so many bands play this kind of rock’n’roll nowadays, so 2019 might be the right time for DEMONS! /Laurent C.
These guys could have chosen the easy way and play HELLACOPTERS influenced rock’n’roll since they are from Sweden, but they sound more like American powerpop on speed. “The Taste”, “Tired Eyes” are less than two minutes, and they cover The Go-Go’s “We Don’t Get Along” in their own way and at their own speed! DITCHES play fast, but they manage to keep some melody and a bit of melancholy that will make you want to listen to this 7″ again. This is out on Spanish record label JARAMA 45RPM Records. /Laurent C.
We’ve been following 16 TON ROCKERS since their first demos. Here they are again, back with a 12 song CD under their arm. While songs like “Pistol A Go Go”, “All The Fucks” “Shake Riot & Roll”, or “On The Other Side Of Midnight” were released before, you’ll also find new songs such as “Limited Edition Deluxe” and its SEX PISTOLS flavour,”Idiots On Parade” that sounds a bit like early MANICS stuff, or the anthemic “Division Svea.” The band also has its CLASH moments, especially in “Fight The Real N.M.E.” 16 TON ROCKERS recorded these songs live, so they sound as if they were playing in your room, which is quite rare nowadays when bands spend more times editing songs than actually recording them. Moreover, the glam/street punk field has been quite deserted lately so it’s good to see that some bands have not given up.
The gang offers us a cover version of COCK SPARRER‘s “Runnin’ Riot”, and it suits them very well. Now, let’s hope to see 16 TON ROCKERS on tour!/Laurent C.
Veglam 