Inflatable Idols - GET STIFF!

Look out, kids: we've got a live one here! GET STIFF! is the ripper of a debut album from Los Angeles, California's Inflatable Idols. It's such a flaming hot slab of wax that it took three of the heaviest hitters in the game — Take the City Records, Ghost Highway Recordings, and your home of the hits, Rum Bar Records — to properly release it into the wild. Jim Perrault (The Legendary Swagger) is on lead vocals and bass, and he is joined by a murderers' row of Southern California punk rock royalty. Joe Jennings (JJ and the Real Jerks), Frank Agnew (Adolescents, T.S.O.L., Legal Weapon, Social Distortion), Brian Coakley (Cadillac Tramps), Greg Kuehn (T.S.O.L., Exploding Fuck Dolls, The Joneses), Derek O'Brien (Adolescents, Legal Weapon, T.S.O.L.), and Geoff Yeaton (Streetwalkin' Cheetahs) are all on board. They're joined by Tavis Werts (The Cineramas, Reel Big Fish) on trumpet and two of the finest vocal talents in L.A. in Belle Johnson and Mika Lett on backing vocals. To call this a "wow" lineup would be a massive understatement, and the music absolutely lives up to all that pedigree. 

On GET STIFF!, Inflatable Idols power through 12 tracks of gritty, high-energy rock 'n' roll that pulls from classic SoCal punk, garage rock, soul, dirty glam, and proto-punk. Style-wise, the band varies its attack, but the attitude and energy levels are relentless from open to close. Tracks like "Oxygen Thief," "Make Some Noise (Quiet As It's Kept)," and "Narcissistic Twist" are more on the flamethrower punk rock 'n' roll side of things — not too far from The Humpers in their prime. Elsewhere, "Get Up & Get Out" and "Hero to Zero" go the maximum R & B route. "Drunk On Nostalgia" is full fury garage rock cranked to ten. "Imaginary Monster" brings an old school Detroit rock energy that could just about wake the dead. "That's Mr. Motherfucker To You" manages to live up to its title, and that's saying something! 

It can be hard to pull of a record like this that's a wall-to-wall smash-it-up party. But Inflatable Idols do just that. There are no ballads, mood pieces, or departures from the mission to ignite your loins and soul with unadulterated rock 'n' roll. Get Stiff! never comes up for air, and who would want it to? The band is tight, but the spirit is loose. These folks bring it hard and unleash an absolute wall of sound with the horns, keyboards, and backing vocals hitting exactly the way they ought to. And on vocals, Perrault can holler with the best of 'em. Even though this is a studio record, I envision it as a live performance as I listen to it. It has all the sweat, swagger, and electricity of a must-see gig, and so I'm reaching for my dancing shoes and my stockpile of adult beverages. When you have this many super-talented people in a band, it's either going to be super-disappointing or just about the best thing ever. And you know where Inflatable Idols land. The way things are going, Rum Bar is soon going to need an office in L.A.!

-L.R.

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/get-stiff
https://takethecityrecords.bandcamp.com/album/get-stiff-lp
https://ghosthighwayrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/get-stiff
https://inflatableidols.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/inflatableidols
https://www.facebook.com/inflatableidols
https://www.youtube.com/@inflatableidols
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords
https://www.instagram.com/rumbarrecords/