Album Review: The Legendary Swagger - "Gypsies, Junkies & Thieves"

 

Hailing from California, the Legendary Swagger feature at least one off duty member of Nite Songs favourites the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and it shows. The opening track here One And Done is a primal bass heavy slice of one night stand with its pummelling riff and snarled vocals in the best Supersuckers style. When it's followed by She which sounds like the 'Suckers covering an old soaring '70s Bob Seger song, you pretty much know we're in good hands here.

Quite simply, Gypsies, Junkies & Thieves doesn't really offer anything beyond straight up honest to goodness rock 'n' roll similar to many who've come before such as Junkyard, Social Distortion, Hanoi Rocks and the Dictators, all odes to girls and nights out having a good time but the key is that these guys do it well. I mean like really well. It's got plenty of attitude and power but it's also crammed with melodies, hooks and choruses which'll stick in your head for days afterwards and have it working its way into your regular listening almost effortlessly. Just listen to the likes of the yearning City and Circles or the swaggering Convicted for proof while Burn It Down, Beautiful Disaster and She's Gone To Pieces bring the punk aggro to excellent effect. The band are locked in and kicking arse throughout with a rock solid rhythm section, riffs which invite you to bang your head until your neck snaps topped off with frontman Geoff Yeaton's Eddie Spaghetti/Mike Ness growl of a voice which suits the material perfectly.

I was really impressed by this album - like all the best rock 'n' roll records, it takes a set of tried and tested influences, blends 'em together and adds enough of its own DNA to make it feel like a fresh and exciting new experience. I can imagine this band absolutely killing it live with a set of songs like this. Put simply, this one should be right near the top of your shopping list this month.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (9/10)

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