With a great dirty groove, fine sense of a hook, nice big fat guitars and a singer reminiscent of Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks fame, Dirtbag Republic can’t go wrong.
If opener ‘Can You Feel It’ doesn’t get that foot tapping and head nodding then you’re due a checkup with your Rock and Roll doctor! ‘I Have Nothing’ that follows is almost as good and when they turn the guitars up to twelve and up the punk quotient with ‘I Don’t Believe’ you’ll be hooked.
Of course there’s nothing new here, nothing you haven’t heard before so I guess it comes down to two things – sound and songs. What I hear in Dirtbag Republic is a smatter of the Stones, twice as much New York Dolls, a pinch of the early punky version of Soul Asylum and as I said that Hanoi-like vocal. For those of a certain age, or particularly sleazy persuasion the only question left is – do the songs stack up? In my opinion, and I must have listened to countless Sleaze albums over the last 30 years, even before this kind of music was called anything other than dirty Rock and Roll; the answer is a resounding yes.
Like any release though some songs just stick more than others; and whilst songs like ‘Sky is Falling’ have the vibe down pat and don’t really put a foot wrong, there’s just the extra bite and freedom on songs like ‘Socialize’ to tip the scales into minor classic territory.
There are two things you can tell from this self-titled release – firstly that these guys love this music, but also that they’ve been around the block long enough to know you can leave space, up the pace, add a lick, or quirky lyric – in short it might be sleaze 2015 style, but it’s as authentic as you can get.
Favorites include: openers ‘Can You Feel It’; the sleazy ‘I don’t Believe’; the frenetic ‘Exits and Dangers’; the soaring, melodies of ‘Leave the Lights’ (which actually name-checks Hanoi Rocks) and the seriously cool ‘No Reason For Loving’ which is probably our pick at the minute. To be honest though we love the entire thing, it’s got it all, and as a huge Hanoi Rocks fan that is the biggest compliment I’m capable of giving.
For a first album we’re seriously impressed.
