There’s a case to be made for not messing with the tried and tested formula of two sharp-edged guitars, a raucous singer and an energetic engine room and Welsh band The Sick Livers knows it only too well.
If you thought South Wales was only good for rugby union, Harry Secombe and massed male choirs, think again. The Sick Livers add glam punk (“glunk”) to the list in emphatic style. “Motors, Women, Drugs, Booze & Killing” doesn’t break any fresh ground in terms of musical style or lyrical content - but don’t let that deter you if you prefer your cocktails served in the gutter without extraneous fruit or little paper umbrellas.
These five gnarly Welshmen won’t win any beauty contests but latch onto three chords like a starving Pembroke Corgi chomping down on a Glamorgan sausage after a five-day fast. They name-check Turbonegro (and especially fair call) and Backyard Babies in their bio and even some bloke called Glen Matlock likes ‘em. No, that doesn’t mean they sound like the Beatles, smart arse.
Eight three minute songs pepper this 12-inch EP (also available as a download) and they’re all pretty good. The guitars ride a nice dirty undercurrent with some skilful lead-work that never gets too flashy while Ginge’s vocals sound like a cross between the late Bon Scott and our mate Jesse the Intruder from Australia’s Psychotic Turnbuckles. Live, Iet’s look in our own (Australian) backyard and say they’d be a match with Sydney’s Bunt, Adelaide’s Meat Beaters or The Busymen from Brisbane.
And the songs? There’s the singalong “Bummed To Death”, the rolling bass thunder clap “Give Me The Drugs” , the super-catchy “Cocaine Jeans”and the swaggering “Hell Bent On You” to punch a hole in your listening day. “Get Ready” could be a Rose Tattoo song from “Assault and Battery”.
The Sick Livers don’t do anything they shouldn’t and aren’t about to play a soft rock ballad. They proudly say their EP was recorded in garages and sheds. As it should have been.
The Sick Livers on the Web
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