Love/Hate back in the early 90’s was peerless live in concert. Sadly the band disintegrated back in the mid 90’s and whilst Jizzy went on to front both Ratt, L.A. Guns and others. Despite a brief original line-up reunion in 2007 it’s always been Jizzy that has regularly toured under the Love/Hate banner, though after a threatened 2013 lawsuit the name became – Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate.
So after a rather nice ‘Hell, CA’ by Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate back in 2022 here we are a few years on with another album under that moniker ‘Punk Rock Fiesta’, albeit a rather frenetically paced 8 song affair.
Opening with the solid as a Rock riff rider ‘You’re Gonna Burn’ there’s plenty of solid groove up front even if the guitars do somewhat steal the show over a vocal that sits nicely back in the mix amidst the sonic storm. ‘Eye For An Eye’ that follows is another hearty rocker, and ‘Wrath of Love’ might even be the best of the three openers. Don’t get me wrong this is straight ahead Rock and Roll, warming meat and potatoes type rock and roll that is hugely filling if not groundbreaking. And of course the framing and Jizzy’s vocal all make it rather an echo of the glory days of the original band.
It’s songs like ‘Over The Edge’ though that get closer to those wonderful memories. It’s a song that nicely robust, but it twists wonderfully in your ears, and the guitars are worked just right. There’s also that psychedelic vibe, accentuated by the guitar and backing vocals that are impressive throughout. I’d certainly love to hear that one live!
And just like that we’re half way!
‘Side Two’ if you will, starts off with the wonderfully aggressive riff of ‘Didya Think You Could Fall In Love’ whose Punky drive is irresistible. The anti-lullaby ‘Can’t Be Wrong’ slows us to a brutal dirge with half spoken lyrics and doom-laden guitars. It’s another that really recaptures former glories.
The penultimate track – a mid-tempo ‘I’ll be Your Shadow’ crawls along beautifully with Jizzy’s words underlined by wailing guitar. ‘Time To Take Your Pill’ that closes of course puts the foot to the floor in style and crashes out in style. It’s been a helluva ride.
I’ll say one thing about short albums: they do tend to focus you, and when they get right to the point without a hint of filler they just leave you wanting more. Back in the day I was massive fan of the band especially live, and so far Jizzy’s 20’s rekindling of the name in the studio has been mightily impressive. This for me edges ‘Hell, CA’ and I for one would love to hear more. One of my early favourites for album of the year…
8.5 /10
