It’s always great when the new release by a band you love hits the inbox and over the years The Erotics have been one of those bands that has never disappointed me. Their new EP ‘Stuck between Venus and Mars’ is no exception – it’s six tracks of the Sleaziest most raucous Rock N Roll you could imagine.
We kick off with ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’ a dirty stuttering ditty that builds on a huge riff before Mike Trash’s whiskey-soaked vocal gives a feel of vintage AC/DC to the murky mix. It’s a late-night ‘destroy the neighbors and play it loud’ type of song that is heavier and weightier than recent offerings. All in all spikier, punkier and dirtier than these guys have sounded in a while and a great way to open up the account.
What follows is astounding ‘This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’ is a late night chant-along classic that really makes me think off all those East Coast proto-punk bands of the seventies washed through with the dirty sheen of eighties Rock and Roll revivalists like The Dog’s D’Amour. Mike Trash has always had the knack of landing a huge chorus and this is certainly one of his biggest!
Title track ‘Stuck between Venus and Mars’ is that mid-tempo rocker that’s become a trademark of the Erotics and whilst it lets up the pace a little its full of all the kicks and licks that are the start of any party.
‘The Best Song of the Night’ cruises on in on the back of that fade-out and drops a chill-pill, it’s a song that, dare I say it, has hints of ‘Every Rose has its Thorn’ about it, a cool, bluesy heartfelt ballad that works on every level. It might rather stick out on this release but there’s no disputing its a great song and the other side of Trash’s songwriting.
We’re back to the Rocking out for ‘I Dismember You’ a wonderful, fresh, sleazy trashy number, that again for me really recalls Tyla’s vocals with The Dogs. It’s the type of song that drew me to this band in the first place and they nail it like no other, with a typically chant-along refrain and tongue-in-cheek lyric.
Sadly it’s already time to close the latest chapter in the story of The Erotics and ‘Skulls’ is a more than fitting way to go with the pace upped again to rock-out in style. It’s another frenetic sing along that like so much of this EP just hits the spot.
If you love gloriously sleazy unfettered rock and roll these are the guys you’ve been missing out on all these years.
The Erotics set out on their UK Tour in August – catch them at a venue near you…
