Prophets of Addiction I always felt were a band out of time, though of course when I say that it’s always a positive in my book. Over the years they’ve captured the sleazy sound of the seventies and eighties in a string of albums that if I’m honest were at times a little patchy, but at their best simply magnificent in their crumpled and faded glory.
This time they have a new label – HighVolMusic and ten songs that are given the acoustic treatment in their own inimitable raw, dirty and ragged way – so if you like the music of Hanoi Rocks, Guns N Roses, Dogs D’Amour, Lords of the New Church, Dead Boys or Ramones you’ll probably find something rather cool in this mix.
Cutting to the chase, main man Lesli Sanders (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and piano) is joined on this by G.G. (Glenn Gilbert) on guitar and backing vocals and together they cook up a nice sleazy racket which is ably mixed by Phil Soussan (Ozzy, Billy Idol, Vince Neil).
If you’re familiar with Sanders work then unsurprisingly this is true to form and it all starts with the strummed first single’ American Dream’ it’s a gentle opening, chilled and laid back and augmented by some nice keys and surprisingly deft and uplifting. ‘Altar of Altercation’ that follows hot on its heels and takes a different tact, telling a tale backed by guitar and it’s one of this works’ great strengths – it’s very lyrically driven covering a lot of ground about Sanders’ career or as the bio puts it: “the life he lived, the career he made and the friends he’s seen come and go – those who took the same ride Sander’s did, but didn’t get off the train and clean up.”
Elsewhere there’s plenty enough to catch the ear: ‘Babylon Boulevard’ comes across like the gentler stripped down stories The Dogs D’Amour were best at telling but is rather downcast, whilst ‘Talkin’’ adds a little more brightness to the mix wit its breezy cowboy/country air and ‘Last of the Words’ with its pickup in pace really brightens the mood and rounds out a great first half.
And deeper in it’s arguably even better with the wonderfully evocative ballad ‘Spare the Bullets’ leading the charge before the bluesier ramble of ‘Hollywood’ paints a wonderful picture of a place and a time; and the soothing strum of ‘Atmosphere’ adds yet another texture.
It’s all rounded out by the redemptive ‘Heart of Mine’ and the beautifully painted ‘Return the Smile’ which stands out as a high point of Sanders’ compositional skills. All in all the already converted will love this, and those looking for a little echo of The Dogs D’Amour will of course find Lesli’s vocals rather similar to the great man Tyla. Some though will find this a little downcast, and though it is largely a tale of woe and broken dreams and stolen opportunities and certainly not a party album by any stretch it does have a strange seductiveness.
TRACKLIST: American Dream | Altar of Altercation | Babylon Boulevard | Talkin’ | Last of the Words | Spare the Bullets | Hollywood | Atmosphere | Heart of Mine | Return the Smile
