Album Review: The Lurkers - "Sex Crazy"

 

It's a bit of a weird situation with the Lurkers at the moment with there currently being two incarnations of the band doing the rounds. One of them, led by bassist Arturo Bassick, tours but doesn't record while the other, featuring guitarist Pete Stride, bassist Nigel Moore and drummer Esso, records but doesn't tour. So you can probably work out which one we're dealing with here.

Anyway, the Lurkers were, in this reviewer's opinion, one of the most under-rated bands of the '77 punk explosion and their first two albums Fulham Fallout and God's Lonely Men are pretty much essential listening if you like the idea of the Ramones' sublime bubblegum three-chord pop-punk transported to the seedier end of West London. Forty odd years on and, aside from the absence of vocalist Howard Wall, not much has really changed - the likes of Fits You Like A Glove and the stomping title track are still the same old no-nonsense straightforward take on the genre that the Lurkers have always done so well. Which given that this line-up’s previous album as GLM, Chemical Landslide, saw them trying to divert from the tried and tested formula with less than stellar results, is actually probably a wise move on their part. 

Sometimes it works well (the soapbox drama of Tracey vs Julia which recalls older numbers such as Jenny off the first album and the ode to the old days on Magical Times), sometimes it doesn't quite hit the mark (Axe Static Meltdown, Electrical Guitar) and sometimes they even pull out a curveball (the Pogues/Waldos indebted ode to absent friends that is Boys In The Corner and the frenetic High Velocity featuring guest vocals from Dazie from the Featherz). Ultimately though, Sex Crazy is simple good times rock 'n' roll for a few pints and a bit of a headbang to. It doesn't contain solutions to the world's problems but then it doesn't pretend to and it's that lack of pretentiousness that's always been the Lurkers' main selling point.

No alarms, no surprises and pretty much business as usual here in other words. But then with bands like the Lurkers that's always better than no business at all. Welcome back lads.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)