Nite Songs

  Well, as with last year, we're doing a Christmas Special for the Singles Bar. Although disappointingly given that we had to add a whole extra section on to the column last month to accommodate all the festive stuff, this year the pickings have been a bit slimmer. Still, we've stocked up on the mulled wine so pour yourself a glass and let's see what's turned up in Santa's sack this time around. Starting with some non-festive stuff first though in the form of the Kut   and their new single Animo (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) marking their return to the fray after a couple of years away. A chugging slice of pop-punk, this is a decent effort only let down slightly by the use of vocoder'd vocals on the chorus which is a bit painful on the ears. Not bad overall though and hopefully the second album will be along soon. We've been anticipating  the Scaramanga Six 's new album Worthless Music  for a while now and a review should be incoming any day now but in the meantime, Big ...

  Another signing to Rum Bar records, the Amplifier Heads include at least one off-duty member of power-pop labelmates the Peppermint Kicks whose album we reviewed on here a couple of months back but are a slightly different proposition soundwise, falling right into the glam rock revival with a sci-fi twist on it. It certainly seems to me as though these guys might just have had a few Jobriath and Brett Smiley records in their collections when growing up along with the mandatory copy of Ziggy Stardust . Indeed, there's a song on here, the stomping Sweet-style Glamorama  which sees them reeling off a list of their influences. There's a heavy New York Dolls influence here as well on tracks like Earth Girls On The Loose  and Rock 'n' Roll Anaesthesia with the strutting rhythms and David Johansen style vocals. For some reason, Candi Divine  reminds me a bit of the old Terrorvision number Ships That Sink  as well and the Sweet influence returns on the Blockbuster ...

  Another band from the oasis of power pop that is Rum Bar records, the Peppermint Kicks hail from New York and feature at least one off duty member of the excellent Watts so the initial prospects for this debut long player from them looked pretty promising. Unfortunately, it gets off to a bit of a duff start with opening song When Rock 'n' Roll Met Your Dad  seriously lacking bite to the extent that it reminds me more than anything of Smokie's Livin' Next Door To Alice  which I'm pretty sure wasn't the aim! Happily, the Romantics indebted power pop of Hey Fanzine!  drags things back on track before the acoustic led I Don't Hear A Single  sounds like a sort of mesh of the first two tracks with a very '50s style feel to it and doesn't quite hit the mark. Thereafter, this album turns out to be a mixed bag albeit with more good than bad - the "Stray Cats go Merseybeat" style strut of Strawberry Girls  and the melodic garage rock of Shag '7...