Album Review: The Richmond Sluts - "Psychoactive Sounds"

 

Named after the Richmond district of San Francisco which they hail from, my initial thoughts from the band name were that the Richmond Sluts would be a group of old school Thunders/Joneses devotees with the requisite sneered vocals, scuzzy riffs and punk attitude. As it turned out I was very wrong but the reality isn't bad either.

Basically what we're dealing with here is an American take on the whole latter day pub rock formula with tight rhythms, drawled vocals and Small Faces keyboards combining to give Psychoactive Sounds an air of smoky cool. If you remember early '80s r'n'b pub rockers the Inmates then think a Californian version and you're not too far off. Tunes like Top Of The Night and the intergalactic themed A Push cruise by with the rhythms to make your toe tap and bring a smile to your face.

There's times such as on Killin' Eyes where the vocals here sound almost like some sort of weird cross between Bryan Ferry's lounge lizard croon and Lee Brilleaux's gravel-voiced snarl which really shouldn't work but somehow it does. Elsewhere, Satisfaction (I Want You) and What You Gonna Do Now? are menace-laden slices of attitude and Third Eye goes into the murky end of the garage that the 13th Floor Elevators used to hang out in. They go even further into psychedelic waters on Used with its woozy sitars while the loose groove of Foolish Romance reminds me of the Chesterfield Kings which is never a bad thing. 

Quite honestly, I'm amazed these guys aren't on Wicked Cool as they've got exactly the sort of mix of '60s influenced suss (there's definitely a nod to the Animals and the Doors in their sound as well) and pop melodies that's the trademark of a lot of the bands on Little Steven's label but they definitely deserve to bring their sound to a bigger audience and on the evidence of Psychoactive Sounds, if there's any justice then it's a question of when rather than if it happens.

Bandcamp Link

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