A new album by my favourite East Coast rockers The Erotics is always welcome, doubly so in times like these when music is one of our great comforts despite not being able to catch it live. So what could be better than an album of all new material recorded live in the studio with an audience of fans and friends? Great concept eh? And they got in just in the nick of time. So here it is – hot on the heels of last year’s wonderfully fiery ‘The Songs Remain Deranged’ comes another fine selection by Mike Trash and co.
The more I listen to this record the more I love the concept. It’s one that fits their sleazy, dirty sound like a glove. 14 brand new songs caught in the moment and delivered by a band who makes them sound like they’re firm favourites that you’ve lived with for years.
Kicking off with the chugging riff to ‘Nothing’ the song opens up some cool guitar that is presumably the instrumental warm-up ‘Nothing To Sing About’ from there the rocking kicks in hard and fast with ‘Let’s Kill Rock ‘N Roll’ is a good old sleazy rocker that is distinctly retro and sports a bit of slide for good measure, It’s a great opening.
After that the new classics keep on coming: ‘Lie My Way Into Hell’ keeps that ‘riff based rocker’ thought and has a wry lyric that Trash is so good at, and a trademark sing along chorus; whilst ‘Monday Morning Meltdown’ brings a darker mood before ‘Head of the Low Class’ threatens to steal the show – it’s another of Mike’s great lyrical turns and one of my real highlights with a great performance by the rhythm section and a riff that is almost hypnotic.
‘You’re History’ is so cool too and has a great swing and reminds me of a certain Alice Cooper song I won’t name (which of curse makes it even cooler); and ‘Scare Myself to Death’ ups the pace and the growl, and adds a killer solo – it sounds like a sure-fire winner to me.
Without any time to draw a breath we get ‘All Ripped Up’ – another favourite that has all I love about The Erotics in one song, a song you can bang your head or dance to and a nice wailing solo. ‘Wrong Kind of Love Song’ is another winner and lowers the pace to produce what might almost be a love song! Again it has that killer refrain that’s so familiar and so catchy it just hits the spot.
Deeper still into the set ‘Sweet Cyanide Kisses’ almost reminds me of The Dogs D’Amour and slips down nicely before getting one of the best audience reactions of the night. And we close with four more gems – ‘Up To No Good’ gets all down and dirty, and Mike Trash talks for the first time asking if everyone is alright tonight. ‘When You Fly Away’ is another slower song that changes the dynamics and it’s another highlight at first listen coming across all ‘Dogs meets Thunders’ and if I’m pushed it’s probably my pick of the album at the moment
The looser feel of ‘Snake In The Grass’ is a winner too as a Wildhearts-style riff crashes into an almost ‘Summertime Blues’ verse which in turn wraps itself around a crawling chorus making a rather beguiling song. It’s another that gets a huge cheer before Trash thanks the audience for turning up and introduces the heaviest track of the 14 ‘Fighting Like Cats & Dogs’ a song that Motorhead would have been proud to rattle off. It’ as Metal as we get and a bloody great way to sign off.
Riffier and Punkier than your usual Erotics fare, live and in your face – this sounds just great. Get out there and buy a copy now! Long live The Erotics!
Tracklist: 1. Nothing To Sing About | 2. Let’s Kill Rock N Roll | 3. Lie My Way Into Hell 03:40 | 4. Monday Morning Meltdown | 5. Head Of The Low Class 02:22 | 6. You’re History | 7. Scare Myself To Death | 8. All Ripped Up | 9. Wrong Kind Of Love Song | 10. Sweet Cyanide Kisses | 11. Up To No Good | 12. When You Fly Away | 13. Snake In The Grass | 14. Fighting Like Cats & Dogs
