Nite Songs

  Well, we're underway now so let's keep this thing moving! Welcome to Part 2 of the Nite Songs end of year rundown... *** 60. SELF-ESTEEM - "A Complicated Woman" Rebecca Lucy Taylor's third solo album continues the rich vein of form of its predecessors. Angry and defiant on the one hand but sated with tunes ready to drag you to the dancefloor on the other, the likes of Mother , I Do And I Don't Care  and 69  brim with a mischievous sense of playfulness and a serious message in equal measure. *** 59.     THE VAPORS - "Wasp In A Jar" Yup, the  Turning Japanese  lot. I didn't have huge expectations for this but fair play to the Vapors, it's not often you'll come across bands from their era who are not only still going strong but putting material out that's arguably better than the stuff from their commercial heyday.  Wasp In A Jar  takes the classic power-pop formula and puts a 21st century sheen on it to good effect and mark this out a...

  So here we go...the big moment...who's won our Album Of The Year award? Read on to find out! *** 10.     L.A. GUNS - "Checkered Past" A real return to form for L.A. Guns and arguably the best album that's come out under this band's name in nearly three decades. Checkered Past  sees them retaining the heaviness of their recent efforts but applying them to the big fist-in-the-air template that they made their name with in the late '80s, veering from strutting AC/DC riff-fests through ferocious thrash to more moody introspective moments. Phil, Tracii and the rest of the guys can congratulate themselves on a job well done here. *** 9.     THE CORAL - "Coral Island" One which escaped our attention at the time, Coral Island  might just be the Coral's best album to date. Almost a world within a record, side one is pure blissful summertime psychedelia set at the titular seaside destination before side two sees winter roll around and things take a more ...

  The arrival of a new Alice Cooper album in 2021 is something where you generally think "well, this could go either way really..." The harsh truth is that since 2012's excellent Welcome 2 My Nightmare , Alice's output has been a bit patchy to be honest with 2018's Paranormal  having a definite whiff of being phoned in and the two Hollywood Vampires albums being decidedly less than essential. Detroit Stories is, as the name suggests, a tribute to the town where the original Alice Cooper band made their name and when it gets off to a start with a cover of Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll , although it's done well enough, it's not exactly a sign that this is a band with its kick back. Then, of course, second track Go Man Go  smacks you right in the teeth with a frenzied incendiary slice of garage punk. It's easily the best song Alice has put his name to in the last eight years or so and you breathe a sigh of relief. Lead off single Social Debris  is ...

Now obviously Phil Campbell deserves eternal respect for the riffs he contributed to Motorhead for thirty plus years but his debut album with his new band the Bastard Sons last year ( The Age Of Absurdity ) was a nondescript mainstream-metal-by-numbers effort and really made me think that without Lemmy he was destined to sink. However, I’m pleased to report that Old Lions Still Roar , a collaborative effort between the Bastard Sons and various guest vocalists is a definite step up and arguably what they should have aimed for in the first place. Apart from a couple of dull acoustic-led numbers which you can safely skip ( Rocking Chair and Left For Dead ) plus a number featuring Benji from Skindred which could've been awesome but just drags ( Dead Roses - what is it with Benj at the mo, the last Skindred album was bobbins as well! C'mon dude, sort it out, we're relying on ya!), this is generally pretty solid and enjoyable stuff. With tracks featuring vocal contributions f...

Confession - this isn't the first time I've done this. In fact it isn't even the second. I originally did a history of Alice Cooper's albums way back when I wrote for the short-lived Sinzine  website a decade or so ago and then revisited and updated it for my previous blog a couple of years back. Both of them were pretty extensive exercises as you'd expect from a man with as extensive a back catalogue as Alice has and both very nearly sent me a bit doo-lally if I'm honest. So, possibly because I'm a sucker for punishment but also because the Coop has done a couple of albums since that last feature (one on his own and one with his supergroup the Hollywood Vampires), I've done an Alice albums guide again. Let's be honest, the Dark Lord of Shock Rock is a guy who needs no introduction, a real mainstay of the music scene and the man who can arguably claim to have had a hand in the invention of both punk and goth. But, like an evil version of David Bowie,...