Album Review: The Erotics - "Let's Kill Rock 'n' Roll"

 

One of the most doggedly persistent sleaze rock bands out there, New York natives the Erotics have been plugging away on the scuzz circuit for over two decades now and Let's Kill Rock 'n' Roll is a commendably rapid follow-up to last year's The Songs Remain Deranged which was a solid if unspectacular effort.

Recorded live without a safety net in front of an audience at Don Fury Studios in the big apple (recording sessions for the album were cancelled due to the Covid crisis leading to Mike Trash and co opting for the "fuck it, let's just do the show right here!" approach days before the lockdown kicked in). From the opening onslaught of the title track, it's pretty clear that the Erotics still sound like some sort of supremely scuzzy cross between WASP and the Descendents. Except that unlike Blackie Lawless, Trash is clearly still a man who knows his way round a decent riff and hook and a chantalong chorus and it makes for an unsurprising but no less enjoyable listen as the chugging Lie My Way Into Hell and the Twisted Sister style Head Of The Low Class prove.

Somehow the "live in the studio" gimmick actually seems to work in the Erotics' favour on this one as it gives Let’s Kill Rock ‘n’ Roll a supremely rough 'n' raw production which is kind of what you want from this music in the first place. If there's a slight drawback, it's that as with the previous album it suffers a tiny bit from lack of variety (unless you count the slightly ham-fisted ballad When You Fly Away which unfortunately is probably the weakest song on here) but the tunes here are an improvement on that effort with the swaggering You're History, the barbed Snake In The Grass and the rip-roaring closer Fighting Like Cats And Dogs being particular highlights.

For those looking for some good unclean scuzzy fun in their listening, you could definitely do a lot worse than give this one a spin. Available for streaming and download at the Erotics' Bandcamp page.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)