Album Review: The Speedways - "Radio Sounds"

 

The Speedways' debut album Just Another Regular Summer was one of the standout debut releases of 2018 and the band's blurb at the time stated the group would be a one album one gig and done affair. Of course, when your songs pick up the praise they subsequently did, it's maybe not a surprise that they decided to re-evaluate and so here in 2020 we find ourselves with a second album from the London power-pop group.

All in all, Radio Sounds is pretty much a straight continuation of the band's debut and the influences here are as you'd expect - the Buzzcocks (The Day I Call You Mine), the Ramones (In A World Without Love, It's Hard To Stay Young) and the Undertones (Number Seven) all get a tip of the hat here. But the group have enough of a knack with a catchy chorus and killer hook that it's easy to overlook the similarities and enjoy the songs for what they are. There's the odd curveball in here too to keep things interesting from the Spectoresque torch song leanings of lead-off single Kisses Are History to the '50s R&B stylings of Your Brown Eyes Look So Blue to the spiky Telephone Lies which sounds like early Elvis Costello, not an unwelcome development at all.

Radio Sounds certainly isn't anything you won't have been expecting from the Speedways but when it's done this well, it really seems churlish to complain about that. And in this era where we're facing what looks like a long and hard winter, you have to grab all the sunlight that you can. Give it a listen and cheer yourself up - it's available to download or stream from the Speedways Bandcamp page.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Garbage Days Revisited #67: Jason & The Scorchers - "Still Standing" (1986)

Image
  "And though you are so far away, ten thousand miles of sorrow/This prison cannot, will not kill our blessed free tomorrow"  - Jason & The Scorchers  - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait Like a lot of Britrockers my age, it's probably Ginger Wildheart 's fault that I became a Jason & The Scorchers fan. They're a band who the G-man has never made any secret of his admiration for and the Wildhearts even covered the Scorchers classic White Lies  as a B-side to Anthem  many years ago. Most people who've heard them will happily tell you that the group's 1983 EP Fervor  and their 1985 debut full length*  Lost & Found  are classics of the cowpunk genre, the perfect missing link between Johnny Cash and the Ramones and you can add me to that list as well. The follow-up, 1986's Still Standing though? Now that one seems to be a bit more divisive. And that's why it's the one we're covering here on Garbage Days Revisited... (* - well, sort
Read more

Album Review: Steve Vincent - "Recovered From My Past"

Image
  Best known as the frontman of Brit sleaze perennials Paradise Alley, this is the first solo album from Steve Vincent. I have to be honest, Steve's day job band are one of those who I've heard of but don't recall hearing anything by but the general signs here appeared to be promising with a guest list including the Wildhearts' Danny McCormack, ex-Dolls and current Mike Monroe guitarist Steve Conte and McCormack's old Main Grains bandmate (along with several others) Ben Marsden. The first thing to be aware of here though is that if you're expecting a Soho sleaze by numbers affair then you might just be in for a bit of a surprise. If anything, Recovered From My Past  sails closer to the shores of power pop or the vintage strain of '80s Brit-glam (the Babysitters, Soho Roses, Torme, Marionette etc) with a healthy dash of early Hanoi Rocks in there as well. Certainly the harmonica honking likes of Yesterday's Man , Last Train To Babylon  and Can't Bring
Read more

Album Review: The Wannabes - "Monster Beach"

Image
The Wannabes are the musical brainchild of Nottingham resident Wayne Zenith and from looking at the guy's  Bandcamp page , I think it's fair to say he's a somewhat prolific feller with over 50 releases under various incarnations on there. Musically, as the title and artwork probably suggest, it's pretty straightforward Ramones style three-chord headbanger territory (including a competent cover of Rockaway Beach ) with a touch of the Cramps' gleefully sicko gorehound tendencies as songs with titles such as I Was There At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Stuff Cindy In The Incinerator  suggest. There's a few little tricks in there to ensure this doesn't fall into one trick pony territory though with the keyboards over the top actually adding a bit of a '60s Nuggets  style feel to some of the songs especially opener Somehow  which even has an extended piano-led break in the middle - brave move but it works. The more moody mid-paced Drag You Down  (whic
Read more