Introducing 12 Gauge Pinup!

Nothing gets me more pumped than reviewing The Prostitutes or any of Kevin McGovern's other bands! So it's fitting that this is F & L post #500. On multiple occasions, I've named The Prostitutes as the greatest punk band of the '90s. Kevin McGovern proved to be a force again in the 2000s - first with the short-lived Inversions and later with a California-based reincarnation of The Prostitutes. Now residing in Las Vegas, McGovern has begun a proper assault on yet another decade. And the world may never be the same. His new band is 12 Gauge Pinup. After only a couple of months together, the group has produced a debut EP called Grind. And just as I anticipated, it's a total ripper!

No matter where he lands or whom he plays with, Kevin McGovern always delivers the same level of quality. Unquestionably, he's one of the best punk vocalists of my generation. And he's one of the few genuine originals left in the punk world. He's in top form on Grind - and as fired-up as ever! We may have to wait a few more years, it seems, for a mellower Kevin. As the new band name suggests, this is not just The Prostitutes V. 4. It's a slightly different sound: darker, and with the added element of Dale Behringer's saxophone. But if you loved The Prostitutes, you will love 12 Gauge Pinup. I guarantee it! "Movin' Away" is classic Kevin McGovern, right down to the fierce, near-manic vocal. Give it a couple listens, and you too will be shouting the lines "I don't hear a single thing/When you talk talk talk talk to me!" in your best mock Kevin voice. You don't hear a lot of saxophone in punk music, but it fits in so perfectly here that you have to wonder why more bands don't try it! But while "Movin' Away" may be the obvious "hit", it's "Vegas Grind" that best showcases the distinctions between 12 Gauge Pinup and Kevin's previous bands. It builds from a menacing slow burn to the exploding raw emotion of the chorus - incorporating sax sounds that bring to mind those early Psychedelic Furs LPs. Fittingly, the song reeks of sleaze and sin and all things Las Vegas. 

Grind, along with the entire Prostitutes back catalog, is available as a free download over at Bandcamp. If you're a huge Kevin McGovern fan like I am, it goes without saying that this EP is mandatory. And for those of you not yet turned to the dark side, you can't deny that the price is right!



-L.R.

https://theprostitutes1.bandcamp.com/album/grind-ep-2
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