Has there ever been a more promising line-up than this? Ex-Wildhearts mainman Ginger, Backyard Babies guitarist/vocalist Dregen, Hellacopters forntman Nick Royale, and top producer Tomas Skogsberg all bunged into a studio together after consuming copious amounts of alcohol and god-knows-what-else. This is the result - an impromptu six track performance, captured on tape and released by Infernal.
Does it live up to expectations? Almost. At under twenty minutes, it's over before it really begins. A couple of things stand out on the first listen - the headfucking riff of "Danger Mind", the irritatingly long scream at the end of "Wire Out", and the niggling thought that, just maybe, they can do better. It's not that the songs are bad, they're just not as good as they could have been. It's just above-average Scandinavian style punk rock, fun but ultimately meaningless. It's great, but we know Ginger is capable of more. These are B-sides by his standards.
It grows on you. After five or six listens, "Star War Jr" and "You Smell Canadian" are firmly embedded in your consciousness, ready to leap out at any inappropriate moment. The faults are hidden behind the enthusiasm of the playing and the sheer sonic terrorism of the production. The more you listen, the more you're sucked into it. It's a damn fine album, but I can't help feeling it could have been a classic.
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8Nick Lancaster.'s Score