carl musker

Bright Lights & Dead Beats – DISGRACELand (self released)

It’s hard to translate a live band to tape/hard drive, but DISGRACE Land have given it a damned good shot on their sophomore CD “Bright Lights & Dead Beats”. In doing so, they’ve also wound the clock back to Sydney circa 1986 when the city resonated with the sounds of the garage and the swamp in equally large measures.

“Bright Lights…” is a major sonic advance on “A Beginners Guide to DISGRACEland” and that’s largely down to engineer, mixer and masterer John Cobbin,but the band gave him the songs and performances to make it fly.

It’s a no-frills recording but the energy is palpable on songs like the surging “Sweet Salvation”, brooding opener “Border Town” and the urgent and lean “Better Call Saul”. Granted, you don’t get frontman Carl Musker jumping on top of your stereo to preach at you in person but listening to the CD is the next best thing.

1. THE MUNKS and THE STALLERS @THE MOSH PIT, SYDNEY
Opening act The Stallers pumped out a high-energy set , a mix of obscure garage covers and originals. Loved it , good guys , great players led by head gunslinger DARREN FALCONSTEIN who plays in many other bands like BAHNE SUPER-FLEX.  All the way from Ulladulla  THE MUNKS pumped out the Raw ROCKNROLL, a sense of humour , showmanship and quality playing. Probably my favourite Semi - local band I've seen in a long time. 

2. The JOHNNYS, @THE OLD BOATSHED, MANLY
I saw THE JOHNNYS  many times in the ‘80s, one time at Selinas supporting the HOODOO GURUS and THE JOHNNYS blew them away. It's  ow 2024 , 40 years later. SPENCER, unfortunately, isn't there but HOODY, SLIM and BILLY still blasting the stuff that hooked me as a teenager. 

3. The DAMNED @ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
Some bands get old and bitter, these guys don't. The more I listen to THE DAMNED the more I appreciate and love them.  Punk, Goth, Pop - call them what you want, I call them  awesome. RAT SCABIES was a highlight,  I didn't realise how good a drummer he was.....possibly second only to CLEM BURKE.