Josh Homme is balls deep in the seventies. Maybe it was
working with Iggy on Post Pop Depression that gave him the horn, but the new
QOTSA album is the glam years getting a solid work out.
The Bolan estate might want to have a word as it’s so
blatant, but as an aficionado of all things seventies glam I’m not too bothered
about him dancing on the graves of Bowie, Bolan and Reed as he is doing it with
an eye on it all being a homage, and we all love a party in a graveyard anyway.
Sex, drugs and death innit? If you are hardwired with a love
of rock and roll it’s in your blood. Just admit it.
In so many ways Villains is just a big glorious love letter
to those stars of yesteryear and sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that when
it is done well, and it is done well here.
Now that the album has bedded in it’s actually surprising
that so many critics and fans are currently sitting on the fence and offering
lukewarm opinions about Villains.
You could be forgiven for thinking that it’s an album you
could wait to get around to picking up, but if the sound of the halcyon days of
the androgynous rock years floats your boat then you should certainly do
yourself a favour and ignore all the milquetoast chatter and grab a copy now.
This could be the album of the year for you.
Let’s not beat around the bush. The mash up of QOTSA and
glam rock is a match made in heaven.
Justice! If there was any justice in the world The Idol Dead
would be rock and roll behemoths. They would be laying waste to stadiums and
bringing back the golden years when rock stars roamed the earth as gods, but
right now the world is having a passing infatuation with lowest common
denominator shit so the guys will just have to bide their time.
Yeah I know it’s all subjective but who is in charge here?
Maybe the next album can be called. Wrong place, Wrong Time,
All the Time, but regardless of what is currently in and out it can’t really be
denied that with this release they have knocked it out of the park. It’s a home
run album in every sense of the phrase.
Its dirty rock and roll sung and played with punk attitude
and there’s no weak links on show. Every song is up there trading blows with
the big boys and girls who have the platinum discs hanging in their bathrooms,
and on more than one occasion it is the Idol Dead that is landing the heavier
punches.
Fingers crossed the band do a UK wide tour in support of this.
The Idol Dead are what the music scene needs just now. They are the defibrillator
that needs to be pressed hard against the chest of the dead horse that the music
biz keeps flogging.
Less is more, less is more, less
is more, and Delinquents have taken that maxim to heart.
No frills, no
bullshit, just short sharp blasts of ramalama punk and roll to soothe the
savage beast within.
And yeah, I like this sort of
thing. Of course I do. In fact scratch that! I love this sort of thing.
The Ramones kicked it all off and
then in their wake a million bands rightfully rallied to the flag and ran with
the onetwothreefour, but while the Delinquents are all over that like a rash they’re
no weak facsimile of the brudders from the bowery because Gilman Street and Fat
Wreck Chords are in there too.
There’s plenty of that late eighties early
nineties heyday being revisited, but that’s not all. There’s more. Much more to About Last Night.
Shove
some Snuff, Travis Cut, Senseless Things and Mega City 4 into the blender alongside
the US bands and hit the switch and once you have given it a solid five minutes
you can pour yourself a big glass of Delinquents.
It's astounding how they manage to hit all the sweet spots.
You wouldn’t have been able to
get a band like Delinquents ten years ago. It needed everyone to come before them and lay all the ground work for it all to be stripped down and built back up
again, and that they have managed to do that and keep the passion and urgency
needles in the red throughout is impressive indeed.
Yet another worthy band that is
carrying punk into future and slapping the tired old punk is dead slur out of
the mouths of those who cared too little and gave up too soon.
Not only are Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons recording a debut album, but they are also heading out on the road with Airbourne in November.
Click on the tour poster to enlarge it for details.
With the passing of Lemmy most feel that it is Phil that has picked up the torch and is carrying it forth into battle on behalf of Motorhead fans. Without trying to offer up a weak facsimile of past glories Phil and his Bastards are obviously dealing in a solid rock sound that reminds us all that there is something very worthwhile in dragging the best aspects of the NWOBHM into the present for new audiences to enjoy.
Add in that they are warming up the audience for Airbourne and that's a night of hard rocking that really can't be missed.
In the great words of the reputable, and most esteemed, Doctor Frank N Furter 'I see you shiver with antici.........pation' about the forthcoming release of 'Favourite Pleasures' from GUN.
And so you should be.
It's less than a month to go now. Oh how time flies when you are having fun. So mark the 15th of September in your diaries. Write it in red marker and draw a circle around it. Call your boss and take a holiday to celebrate it.
Seriously. You don't want to have any other distractions on the day. Let's devote it to celebrating all things GUN.
With three tracks already aired by the band the album is shaping up to be a doozy. Not that anyone expected anything less from them.
Or did you?
Did you harbour some doubts? Yes you. You at the back there. That's right. You! Hang your head in shame. Shame on you. Have you even listened to the songs?
Well here they are to save you having to go and look for them. Don't say we ain't good to you.
Is it just us or does Silent Lovers sound like a Beatles and Clash (Londons Calling) mash up while still being unmistakably GUN?
And the latest hot of the presses.
So are you now suitably excited?
And if all of that isn't enough the band are going to do some acoustic in-store/signing appearances and we are filing that away as proof that you can get too much of a good thing.
Don't forget the dates with InMe and the Barrowlands gig too.
Oh it's all getting to much.
My hearts racing like a conservative minister that has just been told that Murdoch knows about the cocaine and rent boy parties..........and is pissed that he didn't get an invite.
Without over sharing there has been far more downs than ups over recent weeks around these here parts. Hence the dearth of blog updates.
That's not something that I am cornering the market on though.
Without exaggerating I don't think I can recall a time when so many people I know personally - and by extension through my love of music - have been going through such hard times.
It doesn't really matter what they are. It could be a physical health issue, a mental health issue, financial problems, a relationship breakdown, or a combinations of all of them.
Life, at times, can pretty much suck.
For myself one of the few things that I have been looking forward to is seeing Ryan Hamilton and the Traitors tonight.
The gig could realistically be described as the light at the end of a tunnel that I was aiming to reach, or possibly considered as a singular night of respite that will allow me to let my hair down and recharge the batteries in readiness to face whatever comes next.
Regardless of that I have been very much looking forward to it, and I'd like to dedicate this update to everyone out there who is waking up with their first thought being 'I need a break from this shit'.
So here's Ryan Hamilton and the Traitors to blow some cobwebs away just for you. And remember, tomorrow is another day.
GUESS WHO HADN'T BOUGHT TICKETS. TOTAL PANIC. NOW SORTED. :)
Quite a few Rolling Stones fans seem to be struggling with the latest release from Mick Jagger.
Working with grime artists and making what has been described as an overtly political album has left them discombobulated.
Maybe it is the after effects of his solo material coming off of the back of the back to the roots sound of Blue and Lonesome that is the problem.
Few could have been expecting this, but is it really as bad as some are claiming?
It's not as if members of the Stones have not explored different sounds. Some Girls is for some a funky disco rock masterpiece and Micks side project SuperHeavy rarely stuck to the blues rock template of the Stones.
Give it a week, let it settle in a bit, and then make a judgement call.
Consider this a rambling update about what Reservoir Droogs has been up to since the last post.
Normal(ish) services will resume soon.
So yeah, it's been a while, but here we are.
Maybe absence made the heart grow fonder.
Some movies have been seen, some television shows too, some music has been listened to, some books read, but leaving the confines of Castle Droog has not been a thing.
That will change soon as there's a few gigs coming up, and maybe the Odeon chain will let us use the guest passes they gave us at some point, but more about that later.
For now. Let's get into the music first.
Right now, right this very minute in time, the new album from Alice Cooper is playing.
Off the bat it aint too bad at all. There has already been some negative mutterings, but you wouldn't be going out on a limb in saying it is better than Welcome 2 my Nightmare.
Maybe some of the naysayers should give it a few days to bed in before sharpening the knives.
It's less cartoonish than w2mn for certain, a bit more old school too.
If you call yourself a fan and have all the studio albums then this could fit in with the early eighties material. Pre Constrictor anyway. The hair metal sheen is stripped away and Paranormal sounds all the better for that.
A review will follow at some point, but for now you can do the old try before you buy thing on Spotify.
In other news Glasgow punk veterans 4 Past Midnight album Battle Scars & Broken Hearts has landed and similar to the Coop a review will follow, but if melodic punk is your thing then it is worth dipping a toe in and seeing what the guys have been up to on their facebook page.
All the latest gig news is here too. Clickety click.
Hmmmm. And what else has been flittering about?
The news that Eureka Machines are going to be recording another album made our week. Add in that there will be an anniversary double album release to coincide with the new material and excitement levels have hit defocon one.
Is there any doubt that it will all be fantastic? Nope. None at all.
For the uninitiated Eureka Machines are the greatest band that you have never heard of.
The latest album from CJ Wildheart is available to pledge for just now. Robot hit the spot and there is no reason why Blood will fail to do likewise.
Apparently it is a bit rawer, a bit more of a punk blast.
That better be a promise. Kiss it certainly has the energy levels set high enough to indicate that all promises will be delivered on.
As for movies we finally managed to see Spider- Man: Homecoming.
I say finally as there had been a few issues.
Not being one to officially complain about anything, and instead preferring to just moan ineffectual about things, I finally bit the bullet and sent a strongly worded email to the Odeon chain about an incident in our local theatre.
The intent was to get an acknowledgment from them that they messed up, but as well as an apology they sent a couple of guest passes.
No issue at all about that. Happy smiley faces all round.
Until we went to use them.
First it was that certain movies were not included as they were just released. This included Spidey.
There was some small print, but like much small print it had went unnoticed.
We were slightly miffed, but you roll with that sort of thing.
On our return a few days later the cost of tickets had been jacked up as it was the school holidays.
Again it is mentioned, but lower down on their page online. Not really emblazoned at the top of the page.
By then I was starting to think that their apology and tickets were a hollow gesture.
Here's some tickets for you mate, but you can only use them for certain films at certain times.
As I was with my daughter I bit the bullet and payed the extra, but since then I've looked to see what else I could use these magical passes for. War for the Planet of the Apes seemed a good option, but I can only use them once the film comes off the suspended list.
Which is the same day as it leaves the local cinema.
Great. Just fuckin' great.
So now I have that off my chest I suppose I should tell you how Spider-Man was.
It was good. Very good. Tom Holland has taken the teenage Peter Parker and brought him to life. The character has jumped fully formed from the pages of the comic for the very first time. The Avengers movie only really hinted at this, but here he is in all his teenage glory.
Michael Keaton is a fantastic Vulture too, and over all the cast do a great job of this.
The story is solid enough for a super hero movie and for sheer escapist fun for the summer holidays the kids will love it and will all come away from the cinema wanting to swing from building to building.
So far so good.
The downside is that some of the CGI seemed a bit clunky. For a movie which is a part of an eye watering financial commitment to a franchise it just seemed to fall short of what was expected.
A minor complaint, and similarly not a huge issue either, but the cast of Peter Parker's peers appeared to be drawn from a UN meeting.
Flash as an entitled asian kid just seems to be pandering to a pc world.
That comment will of course draw some criticism, but if the original source was an asian kid then I would have been happy to see that unchanged, but he wasn't. Flash is a white musclebound jock. A walking talking stereotype.
That's who I wanted to see in the same vein as how I don't want to see a white Black Panther or a black Tony Stark.
Why not create a brand new stand alone asian character?
I'm a supporter of diversity, but I don't see the need for it to usurp the race and gender of characters that already exist.
A female Dr Who? Bring it on. A black 007? Not a problem.
One is a regenerating alien and the other is a code name. In context they work.
It just felt that it was being forced.
Young kids will fail to pick up on this, but like so many films just now it sometimes feels that it has less to do with promoting diversity and creating a movie that will appeal to the widest demographic.
Did they cast him with inclusiveness in mind, or to tick off a box? Who knows, but I found myself thinking about it when I should have been concentrating on Vulture getting his wings clipped.
The Big Sick was the Screen Unseen deal for this month and it's recommended that you do go an see it.
The movie isn't out to deliver a laugh out loud comedy experience, but instead takes a wry overview of relationships and the cultural difficulties that lie in the path of true love.
It's a gentle comedy, but it doesn't pull the punches when addressing the east meets west issues of romance. Call it a date movie for people who aren't morons.
Ooft. Again some offence might come from saying that. Offence by proxy as morons certainly will not have got as far into this rambling update.
And then there's the television shows.
The best that has debuted has been The Mist.
Taking the critically acclaimed movie - which was an adaptation of a Stephen King story - as the source material the makers of this have done a fantastic job in what is basically expanding on it.
With the luxury of spreading it over multiple hours they have been able to flesh out the characters and broaden the story arc without sacrificing any of the pacing.
It is this sort of show that illustrates why so many people are turning away from the cinema.
Within that format no one really wants to sit for over three hours, but some stories deserve to be told over a much longer period, and that's where the bite sized episodes come in.
An hour at a time at our leisure works.
That's not to say that the 90 to 120 mins movies haven't got their place, but if the story is focused on first and foremost then that should dictate whether it is ultimately told in the cinema or on the small screen.
More of this please.
And of course Game of Thrones is back. Suck it all you tits and dragons haters. :)
