Class of '77 get
together for some transatlantic punk-noir. Strap yourself in for the
ride!
This latest outing for
the New York punk veteran is a punk fan's wet dream, a fantasy
collaboration that features backing and input from not only Rat
Scabies of The Damned and Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols, but also
saxophone courtesy of Steve Mackay, sax player on The Stooges Fun
House, and latter day touring member of said same band. That's
mongrel pedigree for you right there! And one that bites!
For those unfamiliar
with Sonny Vincent, he's a mix of sleazy seen-it-all private
detective, punk romantic, and perhaps the true heir to Lou Reed as
rock 'n' roll believer and champion of New York's artistic
underbelly.
As leader of Testors,
Sonny was a burning light of the NY punk movement, ripping it up at
CBGBs back in the day. His spirit and soul remained undimmed to this
day as this album more than demonstrates. Such is his standing in
punk circles he was able to draft in the talents of Scabies, Matlock
and Mackay.
It's a dream team band,
one that effortlessly conjures up he speed and bite of London '77
punk and allies it with a New York art-punk lyrics. On top of that
the saxophone lends the record a noir Romanticism. All cigarette
smoke, dark alleys and burst water pipes. It's punk rock with a
free-jazz squall.
Written and recorded
quickly, Spiteful has a spirit and swagger that marks it out
as one of the year's most surprising releases. Urgent and searching,
frantic and wild, scuzzy and hungry, and definitely truer to the
spirit of punk than the heritage circuit bands that make up the
billing of today's punk festivals.
Though it's at odds
with the music of the headphones-on, heads-down generation, this is
fired up by a love of early rock 'n' roll and an outsider anti-hero
stance. And is all the better for it. As such it could teach the
young pups of today a thing or two.
Click here for more on
the making of Spiteful.
Click here for more on
Sonny Vincent.
Click here for Still
Unbeatable Records.
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