Atomic Zeros - Atomic Zeros (Atomic Zeros) and I Hope You OD - Bad Mojos (Voodoo Rhythm)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

16 January 2019

Hits: 3919

It's been argued over, and if you fancy arguing again, go right ahead. I'll wait.

Finished?

Okay. Before punk was PUNK (as it was decreed and seized upon by the black leather beetle backs), there were bands which formed a sort of disaffected underbelly. There were loose things in common.

Some of these bands were utterly alien to the world at large (I'm looking at you, Suicide, Chrome, Pere Ubu), their forefathers being outfits like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges; while others were, by contrast, relatively straightforward. Like the MC5 and later, Radio Birdman.

• voodoo rhythm
• bad mojos
• i hope you od
• atomic zeros

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Entering Anytown USA - Joe Normal and The Anytownr’s (Rankoutsider)

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By The Barman

The Barman

13 January 2019

Hits: 4053

Broooooce Springsteen? Can’t abide him. It’s OK if you do. Different strokes for different folks, right? He’s well and truly present on this three-tracker CD - at least in spirit - but I like it in spite of that.

Like Broooce, Joe Normal and The Anytownr’s frontman Joe Normal grew up among the factories of New Jersey - before making  a break for L.A. So the bio says. And he’s landed on Pat (Lazy Cowgirls) Todd’s Rankoutsider Records.  Now you’re talking…

Rankoutsider is an outpost of genuine rock and roll, stripped back to its roots rather than wrapped up in ideas of blandness and mainstream acceptance. Joe Normal is backed by journeymen players whose curriculum vitae includes Stiv Bators, Sussana Hoffs, Syl Sylvain and Izzy Stradlin.So they’ve been around. 

• pat todd
• rankoutsider
• joe normal
• the anytown'rs

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It All Comes Down - Jackson Briggs and the Heaters (Grubby Publications)

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By Patrick Emery

Patrick Emery

13 January 2019

Hits: 3564

A couple of historical reference points: Ken Russell, director of the cinematic version of The Who’s Tommy, lurching excitedly toward politico-cultural polemic. “Townshend, The Who, Roger Daltrey, Entwistle, Moon could rise this country out of its decadent, ambient state more than Wilson and those crappy people could ever hope to achieve.” The second, Old Grey Whistle Test host Bob Harris, his sanctimonious attitude almost as dominant as his pearly white teeth, dismissing The New York Dolls as “mock rock’”. 

I first caught Jackson Briggs and the Heaters last year at the Yarra Hotel in Melbourne’s Abbotsford. A tiny band room out the back, the full complement of band members unable to squeeze onto the notional stage.

Driving riffs, one guitarist secreted on the right-hand side of stage, weaving elegant licks like a artisan putting the finishing touches on a roughly hewn rock’n’roll tapestry. James McCann had encouraged me to get along and see them, and I knew why.

• james mccann
• jackson reid briggs
• jackson briggs and the heaters
• it all comes down

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Jeff Johnson Does Not Work Well With Others - Jeff Johnson (Swashbuckling Hobo)

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By The Barman

The Barman

13 January 2019

Hits: 4576

Jeff who? Ex-guitarist with Jason and The Scorchers - not the classical jazz guy from Orgegon and certainly not that twat Jack Johnson. This is a blistering four-song single, more abrasive than broken glass in your shaving cream and deliciously low fidelity. The songs, though…

Johnson recorded this with a bunch of players in Brazil with the bass player over-dubbing his parts for two songs from London. Swashbuckling Hobo (from Brisbane) put it out. If you appreciate blues-rock that sounds like it’s been filtered through a gutter, this should live on your turntable.

Only “Call of Submission” sounds much like the output of his onetime band, with a subdued vocal and just a touch of Crazy Horse peeking through its dense wall of sound.  “Believe In You” is a monstrous “Raw Power” outtake with acrid lyrics (“Hey girl, fuck with me/Your love is such liability”) and a chord sequence that twists like “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” in the grip of a muscle spasm. If the production wasn’t so early Husker Du, this would be an enlightened radio hit.

• swashbuckling
• jason and the scorchers
• jeff johnson

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Glaucoma Chameleon - Eyes Ninety (Swashbuckling Hobo)

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By The Barman

The Barman

12 January 2019

Hits: 3679

There’s no chance of mistaking this for a prog rock epic or a pompous concept album. None of its songe figire on the "Bohemian Rhapsody" soundtrack. Eyes Ninety play unadorned, garage rock and roll. Two guitars, bass and drums. Tight when it has to be, looser and ragged when they feel like it. Which is quite a bit.

Music is so often a product of its geography and Eyes Ninety are from Brisbane. Now, lots of people talk about the Brisbane underground scene - and most of them are from Brisbane. If you don’t come from there, you should visit more often. 

For all the constraints of being an Australian capital city, Brisbane rock and roll doesn’t do too badly with its music. There’s a supportive local radio station (4ZZZ), functioning record labels (Swashbuckling Hobo being one) and a reasonable range of venues. What’s more, the bands in Brisbane don’t feel obliged to stick to any formula. 

Cue, Eyes Ninety. For a so-called garage band, they sure mix it up. They get all broody and (dare say) post-punk on “Iceberg Syndrome” while “Laminated Beams” is hooky, edgy and fast. “Another Dimension” hangs off a meandering lead guitar line. “Spinning” is discordant, unnerving and equally catchy. “Lost Sunnies” packs a wallop. And that’s just side one.

• brisbane
• mikey young
• swashbuckling hobo
• eyes ninety
• glaucoma chameleon

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Sydney going Green over Spiders

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By The Barman

The Barman

04 January 2019

Hits: 4203

For 20 years, Sydney’s Lime Spiders cut a swathe through audiences in Australia - and for that matter, right around the world.  

Beginning as acolytes of the ‘60s acid punk sound, the band developed its own hard rock style, signed to a major label and toured extensively, attracting praise from the likes of Jello Biafra, Iggy Pop and Joey Ramone. Three studio albums and a live record attest to the band’s power.  

The Green Spiders could be called the “sequel” to the Lime Spiders. Featuring three-quarters of the Spiders’ most prolific line-up,

The Green Spiders were born in 2018, out of a desire by the members to play together again.  Their originals are written or co-written by Ged Corben, Tony Bambach and Tom Corben and naturally include a generous portion of Lime Spiders material.

There’s also a serving of obscure 60’s guitar rock/pop and a dash of 70’s punk.

Ripley Hood (Mushroom Planet, Funhouse, Gun Control, Brando Rising and the Four Stooges) fills out the Green Spiders line-up as lead vocalist. 

Their February 16 show at Marrickville Bowling Club will be their debut Sydney gig.

They’ll be joined by power pop supremos The Loose Pills, now in the throes of completing their second album and deservedly one of Sydney’s best live bands. 

Making its debut will be The Second Chance, a collection of Detroit rock veterans gathered around vocalist Pete Patterson (ex-Mother Jones, Melting Skyscrapers and Rattlesnake Shake.) 

Tickets are selling here.

• lime spiders
• '60s punk
• marrickville bowling club
• ripley hood
• tony bambach
• green spiders
• gerard corben
• tom corben

Moving Target - The Peawees (Rum Bar Records/Wild Honey)

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By The Barman

The Barman

01 January 2019

Hits: 3354

Let’s see. It’s been 18 years since I first heard a Peawees record and this is Album Number Six. The Italian combo from scenic La Spezia by the sea has been kicking out pop-punk jams since the mid-‘90s. Despite having only one constant member in guitarist-vocalist Hervé Peroncini, they sound pretty much like they did way back when.

There's something to be said for longevity in rock and roll. Perhaps there's a clue to The Peawees' secret in the album title. One thing The Peawees haven't done down the years is stand still, and there's enough stylistic variation on this album to keep things interesting.

It's not all about the Ramones. The bar room boogie of "Reason Why" or the Jam-like rush of opener "Walking Through My Hell" are proof enough. If that double-punch to the solar plexus doesn't get you gasping for air, you're a corpse.

• pop-punk
• italian
• peawees
• moving target

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We Are The Clash: Reagan, Thatcher and The Last Stand of a Band That Mattered by Mark Andersen and Ralph Heibutzki (Akashic Books)

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 December 2018

Hits: 4960

History, so observers say, is written by the winners. More often than not, those observers are the victors so they would say that, wouldn’t they? Nonetheless, it’s a truism that carries weight. 

That’s why you’ll see scarce mention of The Clash’s career after Mick Jones was kicked out and it’s partly why the final studio album under the band’s name, “Cut The Crap”, has been excised from the official - read: survivor-approved - body of work. Indeed, that one’s not even available to stream on the ubiquitous Spotify and never had a hope in hell of making it to the extravagant “Sound System” box set.  With good reason, say most of us who have heard it…

Which brings us to “We Are The Clash”, an exhaustively researched and well-written book that chronicles the last Clash line-up, a back-to-punk-basics outfit whose ranks included only two “real” members in Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon.  The so-called “Clash Mk 2”. 

“We Are The Clash” is an important book in so many ways - and not just because it makes up for a lack of documentation of this period of the band. 

• clash
• Ralph Heibutzki
• Mark Andersen
• joe strummer
• bernie rhodes
• cosmo vinyl
• cut the crap
• pete howard
• vince white
• nick sheppard
• mick jones
• topper headon
• Paul Simonon

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Trio of bands make it real in Radelaide

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

17 December 2018

Hits: 4602

_{Brando Rising strut their stuff last weekend. Marina Valieva photo.} 

Someone from interstate recently commented that it looks like Adelaide is the place to be right now.

No, it's not. And certainly not with another inexcusable electricity price hike on the cards this year - do our Fearless Leaders have any idea what damage this is doing to the economy? No? Perhaps those protesting schoolkids could do better. Certainly they found a better cabinet in Ikea, so they must have a better idea about things than the current crop of cockwombles. 

However, the bleary light of today reveals that, had I known about the other gig last night, I might have faced a difficult decision. Missing the Yard of Retard gig, with (among others) Fear and Loathing and the first appearance of Bomber Down (featuring, as YoR so eloquently put it, "Rob Szkolik, Adelaide’as gayest man") would have caused a grave personal "torn in two" moment, as I had put my grubby paw up to see Brando Rising at the Enigma months before the gig was booked. Instead, I see the results of the Yard's gig on Fartabout and, not for the first time nor, I suspect, the last, I rather wish I could clone myself so I could do several things at once.

• live
• brando rising
• lead worm
• electric badger

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