I always
appreciate truth in labeling, and the title of this CD from Beautiful Bert and
the Slags is about as honest as you can get. And if you think trash rock is an
insult, then you obviously aren’t the intended audience. Overall this reminds
me of a southern fried G.G. Allin with raunchy guitar riffs, ugly vocals, and
bad attitude to burn. For an idea of the lyrical content, track two sums it up
pretty well: “Beer Burgers & Broads”. Production is raw, the playing is loose,
and the songs are derivative but catchy. Obviously Beautiful Bert isn’t trying
to break new ground here, but it should satisfy most fans of the genre. For
more info visit
http://www.myspace.com/bbslags. (Bob Ignizio)
Well, if there’s one
thing I can say about Dash Rip Rock it’s that they’re consistent. ‘Recyclone’
collects songs from a 20 year career, but everything sounds like it was recorded
for the same album. To be perfectly honest, this band does nothing for me.
They play kind of a slick, middle-of-the-road roots rock that falls somewhere
between newer Social Distortion and BR-549. It’s not that I have a problem with
the style, but the songwriting never rises above just “ok”, the vocals aren’t
especially distinctive, and the playing never really heats up. I don’t hate
it. I just don’t feel much of anything about it. Obviously there are
those who disagree, otherwise there’d be no call for a “Best Of” collection like
this. For those interested in the band, this would doubtless make a good
introduction. For those who already have DRR’s previous releases, the only new
song is a remake of “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot” titled “Pot 2005”. (Bob Ignizio)
Gorch Fock – ‘Lying and
Manipulating’ (Australian Cattle God)
Yeah,
these guys have listened to the Butthole Surfers, especially the early stuff.
If you’re one of those folks who loves ‘Psychic…Powerless…Another Man’s Sac’ you
may want to check this out. Like that seminal Surfers masterpiece, ‘Lying and
Manipulating’ is noisy, fucked up acid punk. Fortunately Gorch Fock aren’t a
complete Surfers rip-off, though. I also hear bits of another fucked up Texas
Band, The Big Boys. Furthermore, The Surfers would never do a song as
hardcore-sounding as “Tap is Crack”, which reminds me a bit of Cleveland’s own 9
Shocks Terror. But that still doesn’t answer the question of whether this is
good or not. Well, the answer is yes, this is some pretty good stuff provided
you have adventurous taste in music. (Bob Ignizio)
Although
the post-‘Pulp Fiction’ boom in surf music has largely died down, there’s still
a few bands out there playing the style. Hailing from Athens, Greece, The
Invisible Surfers are one such band. They’ve definitely got the chops, and if
you like a purist approach to this style, you can’t do much better. This is
pretty much the classic Dick Dale/Ventures sound with a bit of garage rock grit
and intensity. Unfortunately, there’s not much to differentiate this band from
a hundred others doing the same thing. Without a distinctive sound, that leaves
only the tunes themselves to set this band apart. While there’s no bad tracks
on this demo, there’s no “Miserlou” or “Walk, Don’t Run”, either. The
instrumental version of Del Shannon’s “Runaway” is the only thing that even
comes close. It’s enjoyable background music, but doesn’t really stick with
me. (Bob Ignizio)
I always
appreciate truth in labeling, and the title of this CD from Beautiful Bert and
the Slags is about as honest as you can get. And if you think trash rock is an
insult, then you obviously aren’t the intended audience. Overall this reminds
me of a southern fried G.G. Allin with raunchy guitar riffs, ugly vocals, and
bad attitude to burn. For an idea of the lyrical content, track two sums it up
pretty well: “Beer Burgers & Broads”. Production is raw, the playing is loose,
and the songs are derivative but catchy. Obviously Beautiful Bert isn’t trying
to break new ground here, but it should satisfy most fans of the genre. For
more info visit
Well, if there’s one
thing I can say about Dash Rip Rock it’s that they’re consistent. ‘Recyclone’
collects songs from a 20 year career, but everything sounds like it was recorded
for the same album. To be perfectly honest, this band does nothing for me.
They play kind of a slick, middle-of-the-road roots rock that falls somewhere
between newer Social Distortion and BR-549. It’s not that I have a problem with
the style, but the songwriting never rises above just “ok”, the vocals aren’t
especially distinctive, and the playing never really heats up. I don’t hate
it. I just don’t feel much of anything about it. Obviously there are
those who disagree, otherwise there’d be no call for a “Best Of” collection like
this. For those interested in the band, this would doubtless make a good
introduction. For those who already have DRR’s previous releases, the only new
song is a remake of “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot” titled “Pot 2005”. (Bob Ignizio)
Yeah,
these guys have listened to the Butthole Surfers, especially the early stuff.
If you’re one of those folks who loves ‘Psychic…Powerless…Another Man’s Sac’ you
may want to check this out. Like that seminal Surfers masterpiece, ‘Lying and
Manipulating’ is noisy, fucked up acid punk. Fortunately Gorch Fock aren’t a
complete Surfers rip-off, though. I also hear bits of another fucked up Texas
Band, The Big Boys. Furthermore, The Surfers would never do a song as
hardcore-sounding as “Tap is Crack”, which reminds me a bit of Cleveland’s own 9
Shocks Terror. But that still doesn’t answer the question of whether this is
good or not. Well, the answer is yes, this is some pretty good stuff provided
you have adventurous taste in music. (Bob Ignizio)
Although
the post-‘Pulp Fiction’ boom in surf music has largely died down, there’s still
a few bands out there playing the style. Hailing from Athens, Greece, The
Invisible Surfers are one such band. They’ve definitely got the chops, and if
you like a purist approach to this style, you can’t do much better. This is
pretty much the classic Dick Dale/Ventures sound with a bit of garage rock grit
and intensity. Unfortunately, there’s not much to differentiate this band from
a hundred others doing the same thing. Without a distinctive sound, that leaves
only the tunes themselves to set this band apart. While there’s no bad tracks
on this demo, there’s no “Miserlou” or “Walk, Don’t Run”, either. The
instrumental version of Del Shannon’s “Runaway” is the only thing that even
comes close. It’s enjoyable background music, but doesn’t really stick with
me. (Bob Ignizio)