Of all the bands I’ve loved over the years Mike Trash’s The Erotics is one that just keeps on making great music come rain or shine. Every passing year is even more puzzling as to why these Albany natives aren’t huge. This year’s new release ‘Destined To Damnation’, due out on 14th June this year is yet another stunner!
There are very few bands around that when someone asks you where to start that you could honestly say “anywhere,” but The Erotics is one such band, and whilst their style has evolved over the years the quality of the songs hasn’t budged an inch. When i hear a record like this I wonder what Michaelangelo’s mates might have said when he’d pulled the cover back from his latest sculpture!
After the intro ‘Next Contestant’ the riff of ‘Let the Dead Times Roll’ sounds like a slice of Punkified vintage W.A.S.P. with a Motorhead guitar going on, it’s heavy as hell and has a wonderful retro feel and the perfect way to kick things off! The intriguingly-titled ‘Rodent House Blues’ is simply short and sweet dirty rock and roll. two tracks in I’m already in my happy place!
‘She Loves Her Dynamite’ retains that wonderful hard edge that is part reminiscent of the harder edge of the 80’s Sunset Strip with a cool Metal edge; and ‘Guns at Sundown’ just might be the Horror Rock / Thin Lizzy meets Tyla mash everyone has been waiting for! It’s the track here I just keep coming back to if only for that riff! The breakdown and runout is just sublime!
‘Sold Souls For Revenge’ is short and sweet built on a rock solid riff and uber cool: ‘The Way You Look At Me’ might just be the best two minute song ever! Its so punk, so devolved it feels like it belongs in 1975 New York and if you disagree it would probably kick you back there!
The initial countrified twang of ‘So Many Wasted Days’ might come as a shock but hey, who doesn’t love a ballad! I love this uber short song and the sentiment “so may wasted days because of beautiful nights” sort of sums up my youth! It’s wonderful – so much packed into two and half minutes! (though of course I’m expecting a 12″ remix somewhere long the track!)
‘Bon Amputee’ is similarly short and completely and wonderfully reminiscent of an Alice Cooper avant-garde ditty from the ‘lost years’ replete with what I guess is the promised ‘warped toy piano’ it’s the sort of track that’s on one level just fun, but equally a song that you wish you’d hear more of these days.
‘Whiskey Cadaver’ a Punk-fueled stomper written by drummer Johnny Riott- is stark and interestingly darker than anything here but not out of keeping with the unhinged ethos of the band.
The final track which is preceded by the spoken word intro from the stage ‘‘The Speech’, which on one level works as simply intro to the glorious finale to the ultimate closer of the Dead Kennedy’s ‘Too Drunk To Fuck’ here appearing simply as ‘Too Drunk’ (really?) but on another level is hopefully the sort of stage banter you get at an Erotics gig!
‘Too Drunk’ we all know of course, and the first time you hear that surf/garage riff you know you’re in classic Punk territory and Mike and co do it more than justice.
Is it my favourite Erotics album? Maybe not yet, but the again it’s hard to rank a record like this so fresh off the press. What I do know is that it’s been on constant repeat for a month and like everything these guys put out it’s Sleazy Horror Rock perfection. As soon as Mike gives me the nod we’ll do a review of every release to date and rank them!
8.5 / 10
Mike Trash-Lead Vox/Lead Guitars
Doug Reynolds-Lead Guitars, Backing Vox, Mandolin &,Toy Piano
Tony Culligan-Bass Guitar, Backing Vox, Pedal Steel Guitar
Johnny Riott- Drums, Percussion, Lead Vox on Whiskey Cadaver
Produced by Don Fury
All Songs written by Mike Trash , Except * by Johnny Riott and ** by Jello Biafra.