The Nite Songs Singles Bar - March 2022

 

Welcome back to the Singles Bar for March. Spring is almost here, the world at large seems to be waking up and the new releases are starting to become a bit more plentiful so why not pull up a chair and we'll see what's on the menu this month.

And a good start to this month's selection with a welcome return for Leeds pop-punk veterans The Cyanide Pills with The Kids Can't Be Trusted With Rock 'n' Roll (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗), a great singalong slice of Ramones indebted pop-punk taking a humourous swipe at "punk rock police" types. Cracker of a B-side as well in the frenetic Do You Wanna Know? Not sure if this is a standalone release or an album taster but if the latter then consider my interest most definitely piqued.

Arriving in the same package from Damaged Goods records is the new effort from the Courettes. As you'll probably know if you read our review of their Back In Mono album last year, while most of the world was losing its head over this band, we were somewhat less than convinced and Misfits And Freaks (🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑) hasn't really done anything to change this reviewer's opinion that they're a bit of a hype-over-substance case I'm afraid - it's an okay-ish slice of "Ronettes go garage rock" lo-fi but both it and its almost identical B-side Killer Eyes are undone a bit by some truly awful echoey production which sounds like the producer stuck the band in a shed, chucked a dictaphone in a trashcan in the middle of said shed and left them to get on with it then buggered off to the pub. There's maybe a germ of a good idea in this band but I still say a lot of work is needed before they convince me that the hype they're getting is justified I'm afraid. Bandcamp Link

Completing a hat trick of Damaged Goods releases meanwhile is Briefs frontman Steve E Nix and his new band The Famous Lizards with their Motorcade EP (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) which is exactly the sort of snotty slice of power-pop-punk you'd expect from him with the pummelling title track and the strutting Nite Life being the two standouts here but all four songs are worth a listen. Certainly a promising opening volley from this lot.

A new Ryan Hamilton album should be incoming in the next few months allegedly following on from the slightly hit-and-miss 1221 singles collection from last year and he's released a cover of Tom Petty's Free Fallin' (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) as a possible taster. Hand on heart, it doesn't really add much to the original but at least Hamilton's got the voice to carry this song off and this is a solid heartfelt version of a classic track which is to Ryan's credit given that it would have been quite easy to screw this one up if the stars hadn't aligned right. Bandcamp Link

Speaking of bands on the comeback trail, it's good to see St Albans psychobilly mainstays The Zipheads back after a lengthy absence with a new EP Surf Wars Vol 1: The Day The Surf Stood Still (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) which consists of four Dick Dale style surf instrumentals, the sinister Octavius probably being the pick. While the lack of vocals here is a bit of a shame, this is at least an enjoyable twelve minutes of frenetic drums and twanging guitars which'll put a smile on your face.

On the evidence of what we've seen of it so far, Bob Vylan's upcoming debut album proper is likely to be up there in the 2022 album of the year stakes and Health Is Wealth (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗) is another cracker. More reflective than Vylan's usual full-on assault, this is a message gently urging people to look after themselves rather than killing themselves with cheaply-produced food and selling themselves short. Proof that Bob can do more nuanced material just as well as he can do anger and comfortably our Single of the Month this month. Bandcamp Link

Peddling a similar brand of brutal nihilism to Bob Vylan, we rated Girls In Synthesis' debut album Now Here's An Echo From Your Future highly enough to put it in our Top 10 albums of 2020 and they're back with a new single Enveloped (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) which shows that they're not getting any less heavy with the dischordant backing and tinny drum machines going into almost Nine Inch Nails territory. It's definitely brutal stuff but although it's not bad, it somehow it doesn't quite grab you the way the album did. Still, hopefully that new album should be worth the wait when it arrives. Bandcamp Link

The angry punk singles seem to be coming thick and fast this month with Chubby & The Gang, fresh from last year's excellent The Mutt's Nuts album, returning with the Labour Of Love EP (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) which thankfully isn't a cover of the old Hue & Cry '80s borefest. Lead-off track Who Loves Ya? (Coup d'Etat) sounds oddly like an early noughties post-punk track (anyone remember the Rapture?), not quite what I was expecting but interesting enough. The two minute sloppy punk assault of Twice Shy is a bit better while Ain't There No-One is similarly fast and furious. A bit of a mixed bag here then but it should keep the fans happy. Bandcamp Link

Like we said earlier, March really does seem to be comeback central as if there's a load of bands waking up after hibernation ready to take on the world and it's good to see Italian glam-revival mainstays Faz Waltz back with a new single Hot Cold Fever (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) which sees them going back to the '50s with a full on slice of screaming rockabilly which brings to mind the sadly missed Jim Jones Revue. B-side Lotta Lovin' is cut from similar cloth sounding like some great lost Jerry Lee Lewis number. A taster of a new direction on the next album? If so, consider us intrigued. Bandcamp Link

Continental Lovers were formed out of the ashes of Nottingham pop-punk mainstays the Breakdowns and Really Doesn't Matter (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is their debut single. Similar to the Speedways (with whom they share past band DNA), there's a definite Undertones influence here with the pounding drums, yearning vocals and flashy guitar work combining to create something pretty impressive. More soon please chaps if that's alright with you. Bandcamp Link

Finally, we've saved the filthiest till last this month in the form of New Hampshire natives Tramp and their debut single Jail Bait (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). There's a gleefully foul mouthed devil-may-care attitude to this reminiscent of a lot of the great scuzzy '70s New York punk bands like Snatch (whose All I Want they cover as a B-side here) or Jayne County & The Electric Chairs which makes it great fun. Worth keeping an eye on this lot, I'd say. Bandcamp Link

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MINI-ALBUM REVIEW

WARRIOR SOUL - "Out On Bail"

To say that the latest effort from Kory Clarke and co has been delayed a bit is putting it mildly - we originally had this down for provisional review last September! Still, better late than never but it's safe to say that there's a bit of righting of the ship to do here as the previous Warrior Soul album, 2019's Rock 'n' Roll Disease was a bit of a poor effort to be frank with the group sounding like they were phoning it in half the time.

The good news is that the political invective that informed the best Warrior Soul material has very much made a return on Out On Bail - Hip Hip Hurray is a ferocious anti-Trump diatribe and End Of The World is every bit as ominous as its title suggests. At the same time, the weary One More For The Road and the belligerent title track and Cancelled Culture see Kory gleefully playing up to his image as a no-good rock 'n' roll loose cannon and are all the better for it.

Sure, it's maybe not quite up to the standard of Last Decade Dead Century or Drugs, God And The New Republic but at least Out On Bail is the sound of Warrior Soul showing that they've got more to offer than three decade old memories and it's a welcome reminder that Clarke definitely still has a bit of fire in his belly. It's good to have him back.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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Well, I think we can agree that was a packed session and no mistake. Hope you found a few things in here to pique your interest and now that business is picking up again, fingers crossed we'll see you back here at the Singles Bar in April. Till then amigos...