My love for these guys started back in 1989 when I heard the original Swedish pressing of their classic debut “Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride” in 1989 (a far superior album to the rejigged US release in my opinion). It was the first import album I ever bought and cost me a then considerable fifteen pounds when the average vinyl album was on the way out to the CD and cost around five pounds! Since that day I’ve never been disappointed by an Electric Boys album only upset by the huge gap between 1994’s ‘Freewheelin” and 2011’s return with ‘And Them Boys Done Swang’. Since the return we’ve had regular albums every three to four years – ‘Starflight United’ in 2014, ‘The Ghost Ward Diaries’ three years ago in 2018 and now arguably the best of the lot with the imminent April release of ‘Ups!de Down’.
If you love a little fun and funk in your hard rock and love that rock to take you places this is definitely one to check out. Recorded at Ghost Ward studios like their successful previous album ‘The Ghost Ward Diaries’ and co-produced with David Castillo. This time around founder members Conny Bloom (guitar and vocals) and Andy Christell (bass) are joined by new guitarist ‘Slim’ Martin Thomander. Jolle Atlagic also plays all drums on the album, as original drummer Niclas Sigevall was unable to leave LA due to the pandemic.
The album too is very much flavoured lyrically with what’s going on in the world though in reality is more generally about meeting adversity head on and finding hope in any situation. Interestingly though this time around we’re a little less funky than usual, instead spreading the sonic net wider to capture “influences such as Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Bowie, 50’s Rock and Roll, late Beatles and even the Sisters of Mercy.” We’ll get to that later!
Things kick off with the rip-roaring ‘Upside Down Theme’ which rocks and rolls and carries on morphing for almost seven and a half minutes. At two minutes and twenty seconds of mayhem it turns into almost a completely different song and loses that thrust, laying back languidly and turning into a Satriani-like landscape. Now nice and well-played as it is it’s a frankly odd way to start an album with an instrumental of epic length. The more you spin this one the more you feel that it belongs right at the end, almost like the album is… upside down!
As a complete and utter contrast ‘Super God’ that follows has the funk, the attitude and the dynamics of vintage Electric Boys. But this is an album of such contrasts – ‘Tumblin’ Dominoes’ is a slick timeless rocker that sits well on a mid-tempo pace, whilst ‘Never Again Your Slave’ is more fun and bluster with some wailing guitars – it’s a song that slithers and sways and cries out to be played loud.
‘She Never Turns Around’ takes the mood down with a lilting demi-ballad with a nice Beatles-like melody, and some lovely guitar; before
‘Globestrutter’ adds a Hanoi Rocks vibe and more spoken word rapping whilst the guitar is left to wail; and ‘The Dudes The Dancers’ gives us a bass groove that explodes into a funky Blues then falls into a reminiscence, it’s wonderfully quirky! There’s even more craziness with the ‘Twang ‘Em, Kerrang ‘Em’ which adds some Stooges flavoured rock and roll into the mixer.
That leaves just two – first the wonderful ballad ‘It’s Not the End’ that is one of my favourite here before another of the best and the second longest track on the album ‘Interstellafella’ has the final word and the word is… interesting. It’s a song rich in melody but has Rock and Punk elements and a refrain that you could hear Iggy singing. Despite a confusing opening Electric Boys have created another work of quality and finesse. There’s life in those old bones yet.
The band has a tour planned in Sweden and is hoping to widen and include more dates worldwide as circumstances permit. “Ups!de Down” will be released in digital, LP (four different colours available) and CD formats by Mighty Music on 30th April 2021.
7.5 / 10
Line up: Conny Bloom: guitar, vocals | Andy Christell: bass | “Slim” Martin Thomander: guitar | Niclas Sigevall: drums | Jolle Atlagic: drums
Webshop: https://targetshop.dk/en/electricboys
