I must admit I’d heard nothing about Lizzy DeVine since he left Vains of Jenna in 2010 and was replaced by Jesse Forte, but here we are eight years later as The Cruel Intentions, a band formed in just 2015, unleash their first full-length ‘No Sign of Relief.’
As you might imagine the sound resides in that same Sleazy ballpark as DeVine’s former band, maximum volume, nice and spiky, sleazy rock that has elements of punk and late eighties hard rock but in reality has far more in common with the new wave of Swedish Sleaze like Crashdiet, Hardcore Superstar, Shiraz Lane and co.
Opening with the anthemic ‘Jawbreaker’ and the catchy fist-raising chorus of ‘Reckoning’ its a great start for these new kids on the block and third track ‘Genie’s Got a Problem’ injects a little Punk Rock in the vein of Ramones or Sex Pistols, so far so good.
By the time you get to latest single ‘Weekend Suffering’ (check out the video) you know you’ve backed a winner and in truth if this is your kind of noise then nothing here will disappoint and even though there may not be anything hge to reay launch this into the stratosphere there’s more than enough to get any party started.
Our highlights on what turns out to be a fiery rocket ride into the Swedish night (via The Sunset Strip) also include the Hard Rocking groove and fun of ‘Borderline Crazy’ that really captures what was special about DeVine’s tenure with Vains; but there’s plenty more here and it’s the Punkier, edgier songs that really win out like: ‘Everybody Riot’ and ‘Go Fuck Yourself’ or the closing stomp and singalong of the wonderfully named ‘Devilicious.’
It’s great to have Lizzy back and the fact its with such a great band and fine sound should please everyone.
