Reviews roundup – Supersuckers vs. Jawbone vs. Manimal vs. The Guess Who vs. Gretchen Peters vs. Walking Across Jupiter

Reviews roundup – Supersuckers vs. Jawbone vs. Manimal vs. The Guess Who vs. Gretchen Peters vs. Walking Across Jupiter

SUPERSUCKERS
Suck It
Steamhammer / SPV

It’s nice to know that Eddie Spaghetti is as modest as ever as he and his fellow suckers kick off this album with ‘All The Time’, a song which details how the lady / fella / mammal of his choice wants to do “it” with him all the time. Which is nice.

He’s had his problems to deal with over the last few years but you’d never know it as “Suck It” sees the Supersuckers raging as if time was for jessies and not applicable to them in any way, shape or form. Again, that’s a good thing as life and it’s changes are hard enough to deal with without one of your favourite bands deciding to head off in a Bhangra EDM direction. There’s none of that nonsense here. By the time we head off into ‘The History Of Rock N Roll’ Mr Spaghetti has basically turned into me as he tells us about all the great bands from history and how modern music is, well, shit. True dat. And, of course, the greatest band ever, according to him is the Supersuckers.

This is all done through the medium of Motorhead meets Southern Rock meets seventies AC/DC which is the sound God makes when he lets a sneaky one rip half way through an angelic host get together. With lots of swearing. Even better, it’s a proper album with ten tracks, all great and no CD filling keech to spoil things. As it should be. For sure, there are a couple of tracks which indulge their indie punk side but I’m a decent enough bloke and as long as they can fire out a song as vicious as ‘Breakin’ My Balls’ then I can forgive them their sins. Especially when they’re happy to put a paean to Michal Hutchence styled deaths on record. Say hello to ‘Till I Die’. Forty five seconds in and it’s all “I won’t give a shit what anyone thinks, when I am hanging from my doorknob in a pool of my own stink”. Sweet. It’s definitely the best song ever written about masturbating until you die

‘Private Parking Lot’ even manages to throw some seventies glam rock stomping into the mix before the shut things down with a rampaging take on the ZZ Top classic ‘Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers’, as also done by Motorhead. Natch. Is it the best Supersuckers record ever? No. But it’s in the Top 13. Buy it immediately, then prepare thyself for their November UK tour.

 

JAWBONE
Jawbone
independent

It’s a funny old world. I still think of Marcus Bonfanti as being a young, up and coming, blues rocking boy. He’s not and Christ I’m old.

It’s actually been ten years since his debut album, the first of three before a stint in Ten Years After. He’s been doing that for a few years now but it seems the time is ripe for a new venture. A band, this time. Jawbone, which sees him linking up with the highly rate piano player Paddy Milner (who tinkles the ivories for Sir Thomas of Jones when not doing his own thing). Along with a rhythm section of Rex Horan on bass and Evan Jenkins they’ve put together a debut album which belies their status as well seasoned, instead coming across as a brash, young thing.

Of course it also sounds timeless as they’ve found common ground in the sound of seventies southern rock, some New Orleans fonk, hints of the Faces and a touch of Free. And unless you’re already dead on the inside, what is not to like about that. With two lead vocalists and a singing bass player, there’s ample opportunity for some splendid harmonies and with a wealth of songwriting experience there is rarely a stumble. Chuck in some lovely organ work and an occasional burst of horns, and you’re left with a fully realised sound that you rarely hear nowadays. Which means it is very out of time but with songs as good as ‘Leave No Traces’ and ‘Rolling On The Underground’, there is a lot to love here.

The production and arrangements are uniformly excellent and even if my own preferences make me lean towards the rockier tracks, there is still pleasure to be found in the more Americana styled songs. Hopefully this will turn out to be much more than a project as the record oozes class.

http://www.jawboneband.com

 
MANIMAL
Purgatorio
AFM

Pounding drums, screeching guitars and an unearthly howl. See, that’s how you start off a power metal album. So hats off to Manimal from Sweden for hitting their mark perfectly.

Album number three following on from “The Darkest Room” and “Trapped In The Shadows”. I haven’t heard their debut but the latter album which came out about three years back didn’t make the impression this one has. Everything seems bigger and more powerful this time around. Which in the world of power metal is a good thing. They seem to have streamlined things, going straight for the jugular in a Priest style fashion. But with a better 21st century production.

The riffs come thick and fast with Henrik Stenros digging deep for some mightily impressive guitar work on album highlights such as ‘Black Plague’ and ‘Spreading The Dread’. There are a couple of tunes where they ape the eighties a bit too well but as long as Samuel Nyman digs down deep into his boots for another air raid warning type scream then I’m a happy man. There are nods to the true metal of old with a decent set of old school rhythms all of which combine to make this a compelling listen.music that we have,” jokes frontman Samuel Nyman.

 

 

THE GUESS WHO
The Future Is What It Used To Be
Cleopatra

Well I certainly would never have guessed that we would get a new album from the Guess Who. If they ever crossed my mind it would be seeing their name at a county fair with Grand Funk Railroad, Foghat and lots of other bands struggling to keep an original member in their lineup. The Guess Who still have their original drummer which technically makes them as legit as the current Deep Purple lineup.

To be fair, some of the current members have been touring for a while with vocalist Derek Sharp clocking up a decade or so and multi-instrumentalist Leonard Shaw a quarter of a century. Strangely enough, with my mention of Deep Purple, the Guess Who can now be added to the family tree as this record sees current Whitesnake bass player Michael Devin on some tracks. Others also feature their current bass player, former Dio / Whitesnake / The Entire World man Rudy Sarzo.

And it’s a really enjoyable album. Not only is Mr Sharp a great singer but as the main songwriter he has a firm grasp of the glory days of FM radio. ‘When We Were Young’ and ‘Baby’s Come Around’ would have been sure fire radio hits back in the day. Chock full of great melodies and pop sensibilities, performed by talented musicians, it’s a real shame we don’t live in a world where it would get its just dessert. A real surprise and a real treat.

 

GRETCHEN PETERS
Dancing With The Beast
Proper

Three years on from the ultra depressing “Blackbirds”, my world has turned to shit but things seem a tad chipper in Gretchen Peters land.

There is still an undertone of sadness and regret but the melodies often act as a counterpoint to the words, making for easier listening without being easy listening.

One thing that is always guaranteed is a good song. You don’t have the likes of Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, Shania Twain and a million others singing your tunes if you don’t have a way with words and melodies. And although her solo records are in no way poppy you can’t lose that knack.
‘
Wichita’, ‘Truckstop Angel’ and ‘The Boy from Rye’ would be monster hits in someone else’s hands and drenched with strings, but the simpler honesty of the way Ms Peters presents her music in a simple country meets folk style that allows her voice, words and melodies to shine through. Excellent from start to finish.

 

 

WALKING ACROSS JUPITER
Oneiroid
independent

We’re off to St Petersburg now for some modern Russian prog rock.

Although it’s more complicated than that as they also veer towards prog metal (hurrah!) and math metal (boo!). As someone who thinks that the word djent should be taken out and shot that means there is a fair amount here that does not float my boat. But the good stuff is so good it’s worth battling through the rest.

They started out as an instrumental outfit but now switch between that and vocal tracks. The record takes a wee while to get going for me, but then ‘Hymns of the Valiant’ arrives and I’m sold. It’s a magnificent piece of music which is worth the price of admission all by itself. But there are other gems with ‘When the Day Breaks’ and ‘Ask och Embla’ getting the repeat button hit. They finish up with a cover of ‘Space Oddity’ which is different enough from the original to be worth listening to and which, hopefully, will bring people their way. An always interesting release.

 

_____
St Columba’s Hospice Tribute Fund for Linda Hamilton
http://linda.hamilton.muchloved.com/
_____