The Next Big Thing

So, Party Animals? The new album by Turbowhasname sees them paddle deeper into Andrew Lloyd Webber territory. "Hot stuff in the middle of a firefight"?, Unfortunately not. I'd really like to be able to say that I've been proven wrong but it's all so bleedin' safe. Talk about not pushing the envelope. My main reason for even investigating this is because Steve McDonald of Redd Kross produced it. The usual riff appropriation and grandiose rawk shapes are all intact but it’s so soulless. “Blow Me (Like The Wind)" is proof enough that they haven’t evolved other than toward sounding like a hairier-arsed version of Queen. The money hoover that is TRBNGR is in full swing and they’ve even roped in Nick Oliveri of that equally-overrated QOTSA mob. It’s at this point that I mourn “the kids” inability to thrust The Hellacopters to superstar status. Why should I go over my line in the sand if these guys won’t? Everybody tells me that they're nice guys. My correspondence with Happy Tom in the past has always been a pure pleasure but how come that I'm the only one that can't dig "the product"? The kindest thing I can say about it is that it's mercifully short. I hope Steve made enough money from this to get the new RK album nearer completion. Now there’s a combo we could really do with hearing from right about now. So forget about the “City Of Satan” and all it’s faux Ezrin orchestration and board the boat for The Dark Lord’s Island instead.



“Satan Island” is the opening cut on the 4 song CD ep by NJ combo, SUBWAY SURFERS. This isn’t surf music though, more a melding of The Damned with The Fleshtones to come up with something that sounds like some great 45 lost since 1977. What it lacks in fi is more than made up in spirit so check it out.

And if it's spirit you want then look no further than the new Chips K produced album by WILMER X. This Swedish institution has all it's high octane pub rock chops in place. Mostly Svensk-language, 13 Våningar Upp is an effortless flexing of their collective muscle. The utter and very welcome antithesis of where we came into this post.