Unemployment Blues b/w Junkie/Imagainary Hitman - The Hideous (Bootleg Booze)
Some will say it’s sacrilegious to say it but The Hellacopters sometimes sounded like a guitar solo in search of a band. Stockholm’s The Hideous draw all the obvious comparisons to those Scandi rock elder statesmen with their fondness for the wah-wah pedal, but do the high-energy business with much less fuss.
They’re young and raw and this looks like their debut release, coming from esteemed Swedish label Bootleg Booze.
Lord knows, with people gushing over Tay Tay and her vacusousness, we could do with some Real Rock Action right now and A side “Unemployment Blues” delivers in spades. Jack Jönsson’s guitar squawl is matched by his vocal yowl. Tompa Hagberg on drums and Dante Lindström on bass lock in hard and keep it simple. Distortion rules.
People have been singing about their shitty job prospects since Leadbelly was a boy so there are no surprises here, but for something recorded in a rehearsal room it sure nails that ‘90s White Jazz sound. Powder Monkeys fans will lather up.
Flip it and the short and sharp B sides swagger to the same monolithic beat. “Junkie” is a ball of bluster that kicks off with an emphatic grunt before the rest of the song makes its loathing clear. “Imaginary Hitman” is just as good as it takes its shot. Get in on the ground floor before they’re famous. You can buy it here.
(Yeah, I know long distance postage is a bastard if you're on a different continent, but that's why you buy more than one item.)
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