Frankie Delmane - Street Penetration

Well I believe we've just seen the ultimate in songwriting quality control! I've written a great deal about Frankie Delmane over the years with many rave reviews for his bands the Teenage Frames and The Crazy Squeeze. You may also recall that he tackled an ambitious solo endeavor throughout 2015: releasing a solo track/music video for every day of that year. Well he ended up using those songs as the basis for his new album Street Penetration. 365 songs were paired down to the 18 tracks that appear on the album. Can you imagine having material prepared for an album and literally less than 5% of it makes the cut? Well, you sure would know that you were putting your best songs forward! I was blown away already that Frankie had the creative powers to write 365 songs in a year's time. But I can barely imagine how exhausting and labor intensive it must have been for all parties involved to go through all of those tracks and compile this album. Yet here we are. Frankie has delivered us a nifty holiday gift!

Some of you might think of Frankie Delmane as primarily a power pop/punk rock guy. But his interests in music cross every derivative of rock and roll and beyond. He's one of my generation's most insightful analysts of music and popular culture (his recent social media crusade in defense of The Irishman ought to be a book in its own right). I must admit I've been intrigued for a long time to find out what he could do with an album of his own. His 365 songs in 365 days project found him working in a variety of musical styles and further defining his unique voice as an artist. It all comes together here with an album that allows Frankie to channel his inner David Bowie/Lou Reed/Ian Hunter. This album has a little bit of everything: proto-punk, synth-pop, hard rock, garage rock, minimalist pop, and quite a few exceptional ballads. But overall Street Penetration has the raw, sleazy feel of a classic glam rock record. "This Sick Beat" is like Marc Bolan riding the Sunset Strip. "Time Is Gonna Strangle You" summons the Velvets via the Stones. The sexy "Street Penetration" is the centerpiece of the album, literally and figuratively. And in keeping with the spirit of the aforementioned greats, it's the ballads ("Here With You Tonight") and rawest emotional cuts ("When the Silence Breaks The Sound") that surely shine the brightest.

Having admired Frankie Delmane as a musician and writer for many years, I'm tickled pink that he's finally made his great solo album. If you only know him from the Teenage Frames and The Crazy Squeeze, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear him fulfill a musical vision completely independent of those bands. Others will not be surprised at all - just happy that these songs have finally hit the street (no pun intended). This is likely an album that will come to define Frankie Delmane as an artist. It's his master work, and a wonderful display of the talent and personality that make him the most interesting man in West Hollywood. And I love the lo-fi/DIY nature of these recordings. When you can write songs this good, you don't need to hide behind fancy production. Street Penetration is a brilliant solo effort that I hope will be followed by many more albums from the superlegend Frankie Delmane!



-L.R.

https://frankiedelmane.bandcamp.com/album/street-penetration 
https://www.facebook.com/Frankiedyi/ 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoEPAblNiN8PE3MzCBHfxg 

Tom Baker - Dirty Snakes

Whether he's fronting the Dirty Truckers or playing with his band The Snakes, Tom Baker writes songs that ought to be staples of barroom jukeboxes everywhere. Informed by everything from the Stones to The Replacements to alt-country to heartland rock, Baker's brand of everyman rock and roll is always from the heart and full of hooks. For his new solo EP Dirty Snakes, Baker has enlisted the services of both of his bands. The Snakes (John Blout, John Brookhouse, Charles Hansen, and John Sheeran) play on two of these tracks. The Truckers (John Lynch, John Brookhouse, Jamie Griffith) play on the other four. Combined, that's a veritable all-star team of Boston rock and roll! Dirty Snakes is slated for imminent release on compact disc by Rum Bar Records. It's a vintage Baker assortment of boozy rockers ("Cancel It"), tender ballads ("Pushin' You Away"), country rock jams ("On Your Device"), and Westerberg/Stinson flavored ragged pop gems ("Out of Focus"). When Malibu Lou asked for my take on "Weird Romance" a while back, I said "Kind of like newer Bon Jovi, except actually good!" Baker is just a damn fine songwriter with a knack for turning out solid middle of the road rock tunes. And it's very telling that even when he does a "solo" record, he makes sure that the tremendous players backing him get their due credit. Coming in lean at six tracks, Dirty Snakes is packed with first rate material from one of the most underrated talents in all of rock and roll. It goes great with cold, cheap beer  - which no self-respecting rum bar will be adverse to stocking.



-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dirty-snakes 
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords 
https://www.facebook.com/TomBakerRockMusic/ 

Isolation - self titled

Well you know I like my post-punk to lean a little a more towards the punk. And if that's the case, Falmouth's Isolation is definitely my cup of tea. This band is actually 3/4 of Internal Credit (Rob, Jo, Charlie, to be exact), and there are certainly similarities between the two groups. You can still hear that high energy raw punk sound in Isolation, but with darker post-punk influences mixed in. This sounds like the kind of band that would have existed right at the dawn of post-punk: when the lines between punk and "post" punk were blurred. I'm reminded quite a bit of Warsaw, and I'm figuring that the group taking a Joy Division reference for a band name is a clear nod to that. Driven by Jo's propulsive drumming, these songs have the power and vigor to satisfy any modern-day garage punk fan. Yet their bleak undercurrents are palpable and (sadly) suited to our present state of affairs. A truly great debut - and you can download it for free!



-L.R.

https://isolationfal.bandcamp.com/album/isolation 

Real Tears - Hay Fever

What a 2019 it's been for Alien Snatch Records! The legendary label, celebrating its 20th anniversary, has been responsible for a whole bunch of my favorite releases of the year (Pale Lips, Phone Jerks, TV Crime..I could go on and on). One I have not yet mentioned is the terrific second album from Sweden's Real Tears. I was a big fan of the band's first album, which I reviewed back in 2016. The follow-up Hay Fever is every bit as good. On this 13-song long player, Real Tears sound like they're intent on making the best Dickies album in decades. These guys play super fast punk rock with pop hooks, as songs alternate between mega-hyper ("These Unwashable Hands of Mine", "Dumsterdivin'") and just plain hyper ("Crooner Steel", "Little Things"). Only one track exceeds two minutes, so there's no waiting around for any of these songs to get to the good part. As a big fan of poppy punk rock, I've gotta say this album hits me in all the right spots. The tunes are catchy, the playing is tight, and the energy level is infectious. Real Tears basically formed out of the ashes of Impo and the Tents, and you can certainly hear the similarities between the two bands. Real Tears are probably a little punkier, but still with hooks out the wazoo. If you're burned out on Ramonescore, maybe it's time to give Dickies-core a try!



-L.R.

https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/real-tears-hay-fever 
https://realtearsua.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/realtearsua/ 
http://www.aliensnatch.de/ 
https://www.facebook.com/ALIEN.SNATCH.RECORDS 

The Livermores - self titled

(Guest review by Johnny Problem)

Leather jackets & spilled beer, Mosrites & ripped Levi's. You can hear it in your head already, can't ya? Buzzsaw guitars and a 4/4 beat, stripped of any unnecessary bullshit. The Livermores get it. They understand rock n' roll. Be Buddy Holly on speed. Originality is overrated. Punk rock's blueprint was perfected decades ago, and today's bands (well the good ones anyway) are just putting their stamp on the sound. Keeping the legacy of the four cretins from Forrest Hills alive. This is their first 12 inch slab. 13 songs, 21 minutes, get in and get out before the buzz wears off or the cops show up. Like that fella said "don't bore us/get to the chorus". From track to track their mission is clear: steal back the airwaves for rock n roll radio. "The Sixth Rule", don't know it? You'll learn. Get hip to "Copacabana". No, not that one, Barry Manilow is a wimp. "Easter Island H.E.A.D." in search of Ree Ree, Touch & Tulu. "I Love Her (She Don’t Care)" they never do. "48 s." is 43 seconds long, perfect. "Bay California" second verse different from the first. "GK Commando" guitars as assault weapons. You dig what I'm sayin? It's an A+ report card signed by Principal Togar. Absolutely bulletproof. 1234.



https://thelivermores.bandcamp.com/album/the-livermores
https://momsbasementrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-livermores-s-t
https://momsbasementrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MomsBasementRecords/
https://www.facebook.com/cmmnd.recs/
https://www.facebook.com/thelivermores/
https://www.facebook.com/ibuyrecordswebzine/

Gino and the Goons - Off The Rails

And now the other shoe has dropped! It was just a month ago when I promised that the fourth album from Gino and the Goons would quickly be followed by a fifth. And here it is on Big Neck Records - an absolutely legendary label for real deal punk rock and roll! The Gino/Big Neck alliance was truly a match made in heaven, and Off The Rails does not disappoint. I already made my case for why anyone who loves rock and roll needs Gino and the Goons in their life. I'm going to direct this particular review to those who are already fans. My message is simple: you need this goddamn record! Off The Rails is similar in spirit to the recently released Do The Get Around. This is the Goons at their loudest and loosest - the group powering through ten smoking tracks of wild '50s rock and roll meets blistering Stooges sleaze meets sloppy '70s punk meets '90s garage punk trash extraordinaire. But the band's secret weapon for this release was the one-and-only Jim Diamond, who was enlisted to mix and master these songs. I didn't think it was possible to make Gino and the Goons sound any wilder and crazier, but this production has done just that! The album title says it all. Gino and the boys absolutely tear it up, and from the first note it's sonic wildfire. This is the perfect combination of music that makes you wanna dance and music that makes you wanna raise hell. And isn't that just about everything that rock and roll should ever aspire to be?! Capturing the essence of live rock and roll on record is easier said than done, but I swear that if you close your eyes you'll actually think you're at a show. You can practically smell the sweat and cheap beer. "On My Way" and "She Can Take It" have already been previewed online, and honestly the whole album is of the same caliber. "Got No Friends" is THE rock and roll anthem of 2019 - a song that's sure to have people everywhere gleefully shouting along to the line "I'm annnnnnnnti-social!". If you already finalized your top ten albums of the year list without accounting for the imminent arrival of Off The Rails, you might as well tear the whole thing up. Gino Gambino for president!



-L.R.

https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/gino-and-the-goons-off-the-rails 
https://www.facebook.com/GINO-and-the-GOONS-269493892726/ 
http://www.bigneckrecords.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/bigneckrecords/ 

Boris The Sprinkler - Vespa To Venus

It is my fervent hope that some individuals are reading this now and wondering, "Who in the hell is Boris the Sprinkler?!", which would be quickly followed by them pushing play and asking "What the fuck is this?!" Otherwise it would be totally unnecessary to say anything about the band's reunion album Vespa To Venus beyond that it sounds exactly like a Boris the Sprinkler record and that you will be either delighted or horrified by such information. But if you were living in a cave or perhaps not yet born in the 1990s, this may be your first exposure to the Midwestern punk rock institution that is Boris the Sprinkler. On that note, I would ask you to envision some unholy progeny of The Dickies, Generation X, and Rezillos if they'd been dropped on their heads repeatedly as infants and educated solely through comic books and bad sci-fi movies.

It has been 19 years since Boris the Sprinkler released its last album Gay, and the unexpected arrival of new material has caused me to reflect on how well the entire back catalog holds up at the doorstep of the '20s. If you took away Norb's shtick, puns, jokes, really stupid song titles, corny banter, and obsessions with punctuation, what's left of Boris the Sprinkler? Well that's a trick question. If you took away Norb's shtick, puns, jokes, really stupid song titles, corny banter, and obsessions with punctuation, it wouldn't be Boris the Sprinkler! But you'd still have high quality '77-style pop-punk that doesn't sound quite like any other band in existence. As soon as I heard the thumping three-chord sing-along crunch of "I Tell Ya! Tonight! Tonight!", I knew that Boris was back all the way. There are zero concessions made here to the past two (or better yet, four) decades of musical progress. Vespa To Venus arrives courtesy of Beer City Records, and it features what is considered to be the band's "classic" lineup (Norb, Paul #1, Ric Six, Paul #2). With songs ranging from the vintage '77 punk pop of "Gamma Ray Girl" to the goofball instrumental dance number "Bippy" to the glam-flavored "Rock & Roll Tangerine" to the erudite "My Cock's On Drugs", this album compares favorably with whatever Boris record is your favorite (Saucer To Saturn or Mega Anal, most likely). It's tremendous fun. As always, the band attains a highly unique mix of dorky, poppy, silly, and just plain weird. You would probably need some sort of book to understand all the references. If you're not amused, well then you were probably never amused in the first place. 

How long has it been since Boris the Sprinkler released new music? 2003? Aaron Rodgers was a first year starter at Cal, and YouTube hadn't even been thought of yet. We were all still listening to CDs. Those were the wilderness days, I'll tell you! Perhaps it's just a case of absence making the heart grow fonder. But I'm really enjoying hearing Boris the Sprinkler again, and I still concur with the past acclaim I've thrown in the direction of this band. Maybe there's nothing here quite as valuable to humankind as "Drugs and Masturbation" or "(Do You Wanna) Grilled Cheese", but I'd say Vespa to Venus easily slots as no worse than the fourth best Boris album. A decidedly above-average comeback!



 -L.R.

https://www.beercity.com/releases/boris-the-sprinkler-vespa-to-venus/ 
Vespa To Venus on YouTube