You have to love a backstory that goes like this: Three Italian punks land in the holiday town of choice for India’s Silicon Valley set, get ripped on illicit substances, munch out on flamethrower hot curries and strike out with the local chicks. They fly home to Europe, claiming the town’s name for their band and (allegedly) swiping some exotic musical influences.
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- By The Barman
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You have to ask the question - at least rhetorically - about why ex-Deadboys guitarist Cheetah Chrome hasn’t been more prolific under his own name. If you want answers, go and read his gripping and nakedly revelatory autobiography, “A Dead Boy’s Tale”, but while you’re waiting for it to ship, grab this stunning mini-album.
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- By The Barman
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Here’s one of those ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-out’ releases. It’s a limited edition (500 copies), triple CD set of three recent live shows by as many different line-ups, each representing a particular phase of the Beasts’ rocky and storied lifespan. Need it be added that it kicks the living shit out of ‘most anything else the band’s committed to tape or hard drive?
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The recognition of Lobby Loyde as a pivotal figure in the history of Australian rock and roll has been belated and largely posthumous. Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, he died soon after. The consolidation of his recording history onto CDs that played a big part in giving him recognition is just about complete with this re-issue of the first recording (1972) by his ace outfit Coloured Balls on heritage label Sandman.
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Beware reformations. Nostalgia is huge so trying to recapture past glories looks tempting on paper, but the reality often falls well short. Not so this 2012 re-assembly of Chocolate Watchband with four pieces of their 1966-67 line-ups in place on a redoubtable Scottish label. The band does sound markedly different to its original recorded persona. Drop the preconceptions and prejudices, however, judge this on its merits, and it works just fine.
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- By The Barman
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They’ve been described as “sexy blues rock” and who's to argue with that assessment of Mustang Jerx? No strangers to touring outside their home of Japan after forays into Europe and the USA, in early 2014 they’re prepping for a second visit to Australia and they’ll be bringing this, their latest record.
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- By The Barman
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That one of New York City's most visionary and inspired guitar bands has to hawk its own live CD at their sporadic live shows is a curious fact-of-life, and almost as puzzling as why they're not a bona fide mainstream success.
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There are obvious life lessons in the saga of the Sunnyboys and they’ve been related so many times that they probably don’t bear repetition here. If you’re a fan, you’ll know them all anyway (the results of crashing and burning, the enduring nature of brotherly bonds, the power of redemptive love.) If you’re not, you can wise up, musically speaking, with this collection.
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- By The Barman
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There's a lot of competition but this might just be one of the best Australian releases of 2005, certainly in the (self-imposed) sub category of Voodoo Psych Garage. Think multi-layered fuzz guitar entwined around chunky organ chords and you're in the neighbourhood. As good as their debut EP "Ladies May We Introduce Ourselves" was, "Sonic Seducers" is a quantum advance with the songs sounding more rounded, and the band much more in control.
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