Revenge of the Psychotronic Man
Party In The Van
By Jillian Abbene
(SugarBuzz Wash DC/Richmond)
SugarBuzz Magazine
These guys just don’t quit do they? Their previous CD entitled, ‘Shitty Zombies,’ holds some serious clout, but this newest CD, ‘Party In The Van,’ tops it with fresh-cut green maturity ground into their own already defined sound. Enlightened by their punk-powered attitude of boycotting all scenester turn-coats, it’s no wonder they have joined the ranks in sold-out shows with the likes of The Subhumans and Discharge playing back-to-back festivals and shows to date.
There is no doubt that there is devil-fuelled guitar, sacrificially-blurted shrieks, hammer-pounding drums with punctuating fanged-in-humor lyrics all over this 6-pack CD.
Andy’s gravely vocals are straight-on in, ‘Awful Awful Business,’ Split-open levels from unzippered metal guitar rhythms hits at all the precise times, and yet still leaving the guesswork up to the listener. The song plays out with one more antidote smuggled in at the end.
‘Magic Monkey Juice,’ trinities with a solitary bass crawl-line journeying in rock and roll guitar chords that is only signatured by that punctuated snare drum and a squeezed-in blurp of vocals. A slick M8 in the middle staccatos into revved guitar that has me ravishing images of a non-stop slamming session to this song.
The shining star of the CD is, ‘Fuckers England,’ with equal back-up from Andy on harmonies and Liam switching to front vocals. The back-up ends up being an important element of their sound. In between quiet strums, the song circles around for break-neck guitar, then lessoning, just enough to add a nice variation to the song. ’ Becky Want And The Daytime TV Blues,’ squeals on three-chord punk rock'nroll with twisting -- yet consistent -- haphazard bends tagging the tunes with, “woh’s and yeah’s” are an added bonus behind the fast riffs. The last bit that ends the CD is with the catchy verses, almost ending in nursery rhyme singing, ‘There is a body…There is a body…There is a body in the bath,’ in home-made crazy pitches.
This CD as a whole sculpts increasingly into solid pieces, convincing me that these guys will have another sold-out tour lined up before this review is posted. Yes, they already know I'm a fan!