The Nite Songs Singles Bar - February 2023
Heard ya missed us, well we're back. We didn't run a Singles Bar in January due to a lack of stuff to review (kind of standard for that time of year tbh) but I'm pleased to report that we've now got enough stuff to open the bar up again so let's open the fridge and get stuck in...
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Always good to have something exciting to start off the Singles Bar for a new year and the prospect of a new offering from the Damned definitely falls into that category. The Invisible Man (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is culled from Vanian, Sensible and co's new offering Darkadelic and is a promising effort which just when you've got it pegged as a mid-tempo garage rocker suddenly goes into a full-on psychedelic freakout just to really throw you off. Looking forward to that new album chaps.
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I'm thoroughly ashamed to admit that I completely missed the memo about Black Star Riders having a new album out but rest assured we'll get a review up of it in the near future. In the meantime, lead off single Better Than Saturday Night (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗) featuring none other than Joe Elliott from the Leps, is a very promising lead-off effort with the chugging guitar riffs and Ricky's Lynott-style vocals bringing to mind prime time Thin Lizzy. Hopefully, a good marker's been laid down here.
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Ryan Hamilton's new album is due to drop next month and on the evidence of the title track and lead off single Haunted By The Holy Ghost (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑), the omens are good. There's a bit of a Cheap Trick feel to this song with the Rick Nielsen style chiming guitars and big singalong chorus which is reminiscent of the Georgia Satellites. Not a bad combination at all, I think we can all agree. Bandcamp Link
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If Ryan Hamilton's single represents the more melodic end of the stuff we cover on Nite Songs then it's safe to say that The Hip Priests are right down at the scummier end of the scale and, as you'd expect, Chasing Death (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a two minute breakneck white knuckle ride which won't even vaguely contemplate dropping the tempo below pure fury. And let's be honest, we wouldn't have the Priests any other way. Another band with an album dropping soon and rest assured we're looking forward to giving it a listen.
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Porcupine (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is the fourth single from Obey Robots with their album due to be released later this month. Showing exactly the sort of inventiveness you'd expect from Laura and Rat's background, it mixes a grinding riff with a surprisingly melodic effort which reminds me a bit of Echo & The Bunnymen a bit (and not just because of the title). Another imminent album that we're keenly anticipating here on this evidence. Bandcamp Link
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Seeing Superchunk making an assured comeback with the Wild Loneliness album last year was one of the more pleasant musical moments of 2022 and Everything Hurts (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) was recorded in the same sessions but the band felt it didn't fit on the album. My view is that actually it fits in quite nicely with the album's laid back summery vibe albeit with some more dark paranoid lyrics beneath the sunny tune making for a good follow-up to the album. Bandcamp
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We should have a review of Sister Morphine's new album Ghosts Of Heartbreak City up on this site on Monday but for now, here's a quick taster in the form of lead-off single Nothing Dirty In The Truth (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). There's a definite hint of the Backyard Babies to this one with the Dregen/Thunders style guitar line and scowled vocals but the acoustic guitar in the background lends it a more restrained air to set it apart from the sleaze-by-numbers crowd. Promising - let's see if the album can live up to it.
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I have to be honest, my main knowledge of veteran Canadian punks Fucked Up is via frontman Damien's excellent Turned Out A Punk podcast but they have a new album out now (review of that coming soon) but lead-off single I Think I Might Be Weird (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a good starting point with Damien's Mike Patton-style shouting vocals being backed up by some surprisingly tuneful melodies including a synth string section! That album sounds like it could be interesting on this evidence. Bandcamp Link
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Finally, it wouldn't be a singles bar without something from Rum Bar records in the review pile and sure enough, here are The Lemon Drop Gang with their new single Sweetie Pie (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) which sounds like an almost exact halfway cross between the Pretenders and Holly & The Italians with some agreeably defiant feminist lyrics. A good effort which is slightly hobbled by the tinny production but there's plenty of promise here. Bandcamp Link
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MINI-ALBUM REVIEW
JAY ALLEN & THE ARCH-CRIMINALS - "Decriminalized"
Staying with Rum Bar for our sole EP this month, we first encountered Jay Allen and the Archcriminals last year with their rather good Frying Pan Justice single which is included on this EP and still holds up well as a scuzzy slice of Replacements style no-goodnik rock. The opening track on this EP, Be Mine Tonight is cut from similar cloth and sounds like early Soul Asylum after a drinking sesh which somehow ended up with Jeff Drake from the Joneses and a sax player joining everyone back at the studio afterwards for a jam. Hey, we've all been there I guess. I Saw A Smile is a mid-tempo number which is reminiscent of something Rich Ragany and the Digressions would write which is no bad thing. Unfortunately an ill-advised cover of Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual just sounds like a bit of a mess before a novelty Dreidel Song finishes things off and is at least fairly funny.
A bit of a mixed bag overall but there's more good here than bad and with this EP currently being available free, gratis and for nowt, you can't complain too much really.
NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)
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And that's it for this month - it's good to be back! We'll see you all again in March. Till then, enjoy yer music and take care of yerselves...
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