A great reason to venture out on a cold, wet Thursday evening!
It was nearly three decades ago that a friend lent me their copy of the Backyard Babies’ ‘Total 13’. Nu-metal (shudder) was huge at the time, but I was never really onboard with it, and the Swedish glam-punk rockers’ second album was a riot of colour and flavour – standing out amongst the legions of dour Korn wannabes. It was something of a revelation for me, and opened my eyes and ears to countless other great bands. Much has changed since then, of course, but it’s heartening to witness newer bands still breathing fresh life into classic rock n’ roll sounds – much as the ‘Babies did back in the day.
Dulcet Tones ply a fine trade in jangly garage punk with seriously addictive 60s-style melodies, and – as evidenced by the somewhat downbeat ‘Back To Bassett’ – have something of a love/hate relationship with their West Country hometown. Oh well, the best music often comes from the unlikeliest of places, and that holds true for these folks; four veterans of various scenes still playing with passion and doing it for the right reasons. A great start, and be sure to check out their new EP.
“Why are there so many Northerners here? Isn’t Coronation Street on?” That’s Glitter Kick vocalist Roxy, ever the mistress of ceremonies, shortly before the band launch into the Joan Jett glam stomp of ‘Kids Go For Free’. This is music to soundtrack a strut down the street in glittery platform boots, no less, and they sound absolutely huge tonight. A couple of new songs are aired mid-set; pretty much more of the same, but why fix a wheel that clearly isn’t broken? It’s starting to get quite crowded down the front, and quite rightly so – Glitter Kick defy you not to dance, and as the squealing solo of ‘This Ain’t Hollywood’ bursts into life, it’s clear that they’ve triumphed tonight.
As much as we enjoyed headliners Continental Lovers at last year’s Rebellion Festival, we’ve long been looking forward to catching them in a smaller venue, and it has to be said that the likes of ‘Really Doesn’t Matter’ and ‘Screwing Your Life Up’ hit that much harder when they’re right up in your face. Imagine the New York Dolls, Ramones and Hanoi Rocks mixed with a touch of Dogs D’Amour heart-on-sleeve songwriting, add a certain rascal charm, and you’ll have an idea of where the Nottingham quartet are coming from. They’re a generous bunch, too, packing no fewer than eighteen songs into their set, and whether going full-tilt on ‘Bad Little Go-Go Girl’ or showing their sensitive side on the evergreen ‘Wedding Song’, they can’t fail to convince.
Superb stuff, and all that remains is for me to urge you to check out Continental Lovers’ excellent self-titled record – may it do for you what ‘Total 13’ did for me all those years ago. Cheers to all the bands, and to Some Weird Sin for putting it all together!
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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