Tag Archives: Punk

DRUNK MUMS.

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Some bands are quick to call themselves Punk, and they sound like some real shitty knock-off band that Joey Ramone would probably rightfully laugh at. Some have said Punk is dead, others take a different view. It is most certainly beyond being just a style of music. It is something else. You’ve either got it, or you haven’t. Sometimes you can be blissfully unaware that you are. Labels are lame, but Punk isn’t a bad one to be lumped with.

One band in particular that have this real essence of Punk in their music and have that same snarly attitude as the great Stiv Bators is the brilliantly named, Drunk Mums. The name alone oozes something pretty cool. Just like Dead Boys did with their name. It’s teetering shocking with their name, but shock value or not- Dead Boys, and Drunk Mums are bloody great. They still would be even if they didn’t have a great name. So, what’s in a name? Whatever you want. Whatever the hell you want.

They’ve been around for some time now, and their extensive list of songs is something well worth getting into. The songs that unleash the fury of being stuck in a situation you are dying to get out of- well, they just make it a little easier. There is no denying that I would happily pack up and leave London right now if I could. It’s not home. For me, Drunk Mums unleash this frustration in a way that’s so easy to connect with, and to truly fall in love with. I love how loud they are and I love that they make me feel like I am not in 2018. I feel like I’ve gone back 40+ years. They make you want to put on your favourite (fake, of course) leather jacket or denim jacket that’s covered in badges and patches and heading down to your favourite dive bar to lose yourself in some great music.

They have recently released the 4-track EP, Denim which is up there as being one of the strongest releases of the year and definitely some of their best work to date. It’s damn near impossible to pick my favourite record or song, so I won’t. There’s no point. Everything I’ve heard has just blown my mind. I love the rough and aggressive sound that they have. It just makes you want to throw shit around and be rowdy. I always look for bands that make me feel like, this is how I would want to sound if I was musically talented and had a band- Drunk Mums are definitely one of those bands. They have this energy that really hits you in the gut and makes you want to blast their music out as loud as possible.

Drunk Mums are one of those bands that, once you listen to them you are hooked. Completely and utterly. They make you want to dive in head first into their music and not listen to anything else. There is something really therapeutic about a band that can let out this fury and frustration we carry towards daily life. Certain things are hard to switch off, and change but thankfully bands like Drunk Mums are here to get it out of our system for us. Again, they are one of those bands that you just know that their live shows are going to be totally wild and great. I have no idea if/when they’ll head to the UK, but when they do I’m pretty sure it will be something to remember.

You can listen/buy their music and merch right here:

https://drunkmums.bandcamp.com/

Play it as loud as you can to truly hear just how amazing they are. Maybe subject your neighbours to them too. They are honestly one of the best bands I’ve heard in a long time, and they just leave you wanting more and more. They immediately make you their biggest fan with the first listen. They have something about them that just draws you to them. I don’t really want to listen to anything else right now.

 

LOVERS CLUB: Empty Ballroom Blues

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One of the most exciting bands to emerge from London, Lovers Club has just released their phenomenal EP Empty Ballroom Blues. It excels everything they have done to date, and it truly shows how great they are and undoubtedly, 2018 will be their year.

There is only one criticism of the EP-it’s not long enough. I want, I need more songs. This is a band that leaves you needing more. The need is greater than the want here. Everyone seems to follow certain “buzz” bands without giving a thought to those who are making something worth listening to. Lovers Club are that band. They are massively underrated and effortlessly cool. Alec’s vocals are nothing short of eerie and gripping. They make you feel like you are being chased down a dark alleyway with no hope of survival. They fill you with this dark excitement that takes you back to hearing The Cramps and The Mummies for the first time. That might just be me, but it’s alright. Lovers Club have this sound that makes you just want to totally immerse yourself in all that they do and hope they never ever call it quits. It’s a beautifully creepy sound that takes you over in the best way imaginable.

The opener, Empty Ballroom Blues truly sets the tone for the EP. It has this grand sound to it that is found in bands that have been at it for decades, but Lovers Club have this magnetic confidence in their sound that just makes you feel and believe that this is a band who have been around for decades. It’s a proper established and powerful sound that as I’ve said, just leaves you wanting more. Needing more. Alec’s guitar skills remind you of part Poison Ivy and part Johnny Thunders. The band has this raw Rock N Roll feel to their sound that is lacking in music right now. Are they are saviours? If you want them to be.

The Barge is just under 2 minutes and again, it isn’t enough. But it is taster of what Lovers Club is capable of and what is to come. It feels completely right to just keep on hitting repeat with this EP. Nothing can touch it. I truly feel that this is going to be one of my favourite things I hear all year, and will most definitely be one of my most played. The Barge has this brilliant distorted sound to it. It feels like it could have been in a Vincent Price film- it’s got this brutality to it that comes through effortlessly in Alec’s voice. Everything about this song just goes so well together. When the chorus kicks in, you can really hear just how great Alec, Oliver and Matt are. Towards the end the song has this energy to it that makes you think it’ll go on forever. It makes you want it to go on forever. Then it ends making room for the closer, Dark Country.

Dark Country is a heavy song. It carries something quite sinister to it, and I think that’s why I really love this one. I love the whole EP but Dark Country has this really heavy feel to it which just oozes a shade of evilness that makes you want to be part of it all. The whole EP feels as if it was made for a Horror film. The atmosphere they create in their music is something which I absolutely adore, and I really cannot wait to see and hear what they do this year because they really are the best new band around. Sure it is a biased opinion, but I’m not going to waste anyone’s time by writing in a negative manner. That’s just pointless. I love finding new bands and writing about how much I love their music, and how exciting they are. Lovers Club are one of those bands that make me want to keep writing about music- and recently that love has been fading. It’s back again. I think. I hope.

Anyway, you can buy/listen to the EP right here: https://loversclub.bandcamp.com/album/empty-ballroom-blues-ep

They are playing a few dates in London over the next couple of months at:

23rd February- The Black Heart

1st March- The Lock Tavern

See you at the front!

SHADY FRANCOS

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It’s pretty hard to listen to anything else or care about anything other than The Fall right now. It’s been a few days, and it still hasn’t sunk in that the greatest and most unapologetically honest frontman is no longer with us. It sucks. It really, really sucks.

I needed something this morning to lift my mood up a little bit this morning. I found a band called Shady Francos. Proper Rock n Roll band that have this excellent psychobilly sound flowing through. If you dig The Cramps, you’ll probably love this band. I’m not sure what they’re up to right now, or if they’re still together, but it’s alright. There’s enough music for me to work on to write about them.

https://soundcloud.com/fieldtripssd/shady-francos-cant-opener

They have this effortlessly cool sound, the kind of sound you wish you could make. They’re the kind of band that if you walked past them rehearsing, it would stop you in your tracks and you’d never leave. It’s an intriguing sound that leaves you wanting more, and more. It’s a real lucid sound that you cannot shake. You can’t get enough of it. Feel free to lose your damn mind to this band. Their bio says that they are from the shady part of San Diego. They really do make you feel like you have ended up on the wrong side of town. I’ve just finished reading Digging The Vein by Tony O’Neill (if you’ve never read his work, you’re really missing out. He’s an underrated genius) and Shady Francos really do make you feel a little creeped out with their sound. They are loud, off the wall and brutal with their sound.

I love the distorted and shaky vocals. I love how you can hear this trembling in the vocals that makes you cling onto every word. I love how aggressive the drums are which go perfectly with the vocals. Everything about this band is just brilliant. They remind me a little of The Cramps and Küken. Some bands are just made to be played loud. Some bands are made to just take you some place obscure- Shady Francos do exactly that. They make you want to sit and do a load of nothing with their music blaring out.

You can imagine some kid in San Diego listening to them and just wanting to do what they do when they are older. They’re subtle heroes, and given the chance could take over the world. Things take time, so I’ll let them takeover mine. I don’t mind.

Soggy Diner Toast is so far my favourite song by them, but I’m obviously likely to change my mind as I repeatedly listen to them and find new things to love about them and more songs to claim as my favourite. If you’re looking for a band to do a whole load of nothing to, then Shady Francos are the band for you.

Play ‘em loud, piss off your neighbours and relax.

 

STALLED MINDS.

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France is home to two of my great loves- Rimbaud and the Born Bad record store in Bastille. It is also home to exceptional musicians who have undoubtedly been an influence on the bands I listen to. Paris has an insanely great Punk scene. It’s enough to make you sack off all responsibilities and move there to really immerse yourself in it. Or you can live vicariously through others. It’s the cheaper option.

I’ve written about loads of bands from Paris over the past few years. I don’t seek them out on purpose, it just happens. Accidents are sometimes alright. One band I found today that have immediately won me over are Stalled Minds. Easily one of the loudest and best bands around right now- even though their self-titled release came out two years ago, they still have this exciting and new sound. They make you want to break stuff, they make you want to start a band that is part Bad Brains and part whatever the hell you want so long as it is loud. I’m currently writing this with my housemate’s cat on my bed. I’m looking after him until tomorrow evening, and he’s currently having another nap. Every so often he lets out a snore and I tell you what, he manages to fit it in time with the music. He’s got good taste.

Stalled Minds are the kind of band you want to join and trash basement bars with. You want to lob lukewarm beer over the crowd and go insane to their song, Shit City. They have this energy in their songs that you’ve never quite heard or felt before. They’re a band that you’ll wonder why on earth they aren’t huge, but you treasure them and play the music as loud as your ears can stand.

From what I’ve heard so far, and yes I am late to the party, I just absolutely love their sound. I love how the vocals are sometimes distorted. I love how furiously they play and how it feels like a collective riot. There is such a united sound, and I think that it is one of the many reasons why I love them and why they just sound so great. It’s an impeccable sound that they have crafted and they just sound so effortlessly cool.

A couple members of Stalled Minds are in the equally great Youth Avoiders. I’ll be writing about them real soon too. Both bands play with this infectious fury that sort of eases the mind but also unleashes everything you’ve pent up. Music should be a release, and Stalled Minds take good care of that notion.

If you’re looking for a band to blow your mind and eardrums then listen to Stalled Minds. Listen to them as loud as you can handle, then push yourself to go a little louder. They’ll make you want to start a band, they’ll make you want to go to every live show they ever do. But until you see them, you’ll imagine the show in your mind- covered in sweat and beer.

LOVERS CLUB.

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If the bio for your band states that you are the best Rock ‘n’ Roll band in the world, then you’ve got a lot to live up to right? Wrong. Who cares about expectations! Who even needs them! Lovers Club have made a bold statement, and they are true to it. They are easily one of the best around and most certainly one of the best bands in the UK.

Whatever you’re expecting from Lovers Club- ignore it. There’s no point in assuming that they are a gentle band with such a loving name. Far from it. The irony. Their sound is The Cramps headbutting The Jesus And Mary Chain. They are loud, the sound is aggressive and it is all so brilliant. If you’re wanting a band that sounds like they are crashing into your skull and possessing your body, then Lovers Club are for you.

Lovers Club put their first release out in March this year. I think it was only released as cassette. The songs on this tape are heavy- they have the heaviness of Sleep and the eeriness of The Cramps. For me, they just have the perfect sound. I’d pretty sure that the top three bands in this country right now are Table Scraps, Night Shades and Lovers Club. Each band has a distinctive sound that just takes over the mind. What does it do to the body? Well if you’re questioning it, then you’re not listening hard enough.

Lovers Club have this sound that makes you wish you could continuously go to their live shows and live in this world that they have created. The world that they have created feels like a horror film from decades and decades ago with a hint of Edgar Allan Poe lurking throughout. They just have this instantly iconic sound and style- it makes you want to do what they do, but all you can do is listen. Religiously.

Lovers is possibly my favourite song by them at the moment but I am likely to change my mind as the day progresses. I love how brutal everything sounds on this song. It sure does hit you throughout in all their songs, but Lovers is the one that is a little more in your face than the others on the tape- and it is the one I keep going back to. There is something really, really special about this band. If I could describe what makes them so bloody brilliant there would be no point. They just immediately draw you in. It’s like they’ve got you in a headlock and no part of you is going to even fight an escape.

Lovers Club are more than just a Rock ‘n’ Roll band. Their sound is beyond being just Rock ‘n’ Roll- it is truly something else. Lovers Club are here to shake your skull, potentially deafen you and make you move in a way that you feel sure about doing. They make you want to join their band and add some more noise to their sound. They’ll only get better and louder, and I really cannot wait to hear more from them. They’re just effortlessly cool and they make it loud/sound so easy.

The next Lovers Club show will be at the Old Blue Last on the 13th December.

Buy the tape, and play it loud: https://loversclub.bandcamp.com/releases

 

NIGHT SHADES: Evil Dreams.

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Some bands take a while to reach peak greatness. Others just do it immediately. Night Shades are one of those bands who have done it instantly. London’s finest band. A band that sound like they have creeped out from the underworld and have come to take our souls and gnaw at our eardrums. They possess the wonderful manic tones of The Cramps, which for me is just absolutely brilliant.

Last month they put out the remarkable Evil Dreams. It is one of the best things you will hear all year. It will make you forget all the things “critics” have told you to enjoy earlier in the year. Anything you have heard before this may well be ignored. Anything you hear after it just won’t measure up. They make every day feel like a ghoulish holiday. Darker than Halloween. Sinister, eerie and nothing short of hypnotising. For me, they are probably my favourite band in London right now.

Evil Dreams lives up to its title. It has this gloriously evil and twisted feel to it. You feel like you are in a Jack The Ripper biopic. You feel like you are in an Edgar Allen Poe poem- you feel like you are living out historical horrors. You are totally immersed in their wonderful sound. Niall makes the drums sound like gentle crashes against the soul. Clare and Shaun’s vocals are chilling. You feel a cloak of mist fall down as you listen to Golden Hair which then goes into the glorious Cara Mia which shows just how ethereal Clare’s voice is. Their songs are like haunting lullabies. Every single part of you just falls madly in love with each song on this mind-blowing body of work. It feels like you have waited decades and decades to hear something as truly brilliant as this. I am super annoyed I missed the launch of Evil Dreams. Now I just play it constantly and create my own world in my head.

As the days are getting shorter, this is the perfect record to listen to as you make your way home from work as it gets dark. You feel like you’re walking through the underbelly of evilness and possibly moonlighting as Columbo in your head. Stalking the streets to seek out evil. Maybe you’ll stomp it out, maybe you’ll be part of it. Whatever sordid tale you wish to conjure up and be part of, Night Shades have fitting songs on Evil Dreams for you to take part in.

It is easy to get caught up in something when you play it just once, then after a few listens you partially regret how you were so quick to declare something as being great. Night Shades do not make you feel that way. Evil Dreams is something you play and instantly realise you have found something nothing short of perfect, and will undoubtedly be something you keep playing in years to come. Evil Dreams has songs that remind me of hearing The Mummies and The Cramps for the first time. It’s been a while since I felt that, and Night Shades make the waiting worthwhile.

If you’re looking for something to scare you a little bit or if you’re in need of something to give you the creeps to reassure you that you’re still alive- Night Shades are the band for you. Easily. They create this amazing atmosphere on their record that makes you feel as if they are right there in front of you, extending their hand out to yours in order to grab you into this world they have created. Take their hand, don’t let go and allow yourself to delve deep, deep into this charming and creepy world they have created.

THE CRAMPS: Fiends Of Dope Island.

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So here we are, the last record by The Cramps. In 2003, The Cramps released Fiends Of Dope Island- their eight full length record. It isn’t my favourite record, but thankfully it still has THAT sound that we all knew and love. The sound that defined them. The sound that made them so important and so influential.

I thought writing about all their records would have taken me longer than this. However, from the start I knew it was something I would have to see through. Besides, what else am I going to do with my spare time?

Fiends Of Dope Island opens with Big Black Witchcraft Rock. It’s a heavy song in comparison to what they have previously done. This record is a heavy sounding record and in some parts of the record, it doesn’t completely sound like The Cramps. I know a band shouldn’t make the same sounding record over and over. The Cramps never did that, but you always knew it was them. There is no fault at all in Ivy’s raucous guitar skills- you never could fault her or Lux at all.

There are some great songs on this record such as Dr Fucker M.D (Musical Deviant), Dopefiend Boogie and She’s Got Balls. It is still a brilliant record by them, don’t get me wrong. But I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one. I mean nothing is going to beat A Date With Elvis or Stay Sick! for me but it is still a strong record that sits nicely with their lengthy list of releases.

I love the slick sounds on Taboo, and how Chopper Franklin truly adds something special to this cover. It also shows just how fantastic Lux’s voice was. He sings slightly different on this one. It doesn’t typically sound like him, and I think that’s why this cover really stands out on this record. It is one of my favourite covers they’ve ever done also. I love Hang Up. It’s got Lux sounding quite snarly, and I really love that. I love how he could do anything with his voice. The way he’d sound like every part of him was shaking as he sung. The banshee-like wails he makes on the end of the song are just excellent. It’s one of the best moments on the record for sure. I also think Oowee Baby is one of the songs on the record that sounds typically them. It’s got a sound that reminds me a little of their earlier records.

I feel that Fiends Of Dope Island is slightly darker than their previous records. This record does feel quite heavy. I don’t know if they knew this would be the last record they were going to make or not. It’s hard to tell.  The artwork to the record is creepy. Lux has this demonic look, and it kind of gives you an impression of how they wanted this record to sound. It is dark and it is menacing. I don’t know how this record sits amongst other fans of The Cramps. I’ve played it a few times in a row now prior to writing this and it has grown on me. I really love Dr Fucker M.D- there’s something brilliantly eerie about this song. It sounds like something you would hear playing in a horror film. You can imagine Dr Fucker being this wild doctor who just causes absolute mayhem.

From listening to all of The Cramps records, it has just made me love and appreciate them even more. No other band is ever going to make something as wonderfully sleazy as I Want To Get In Your Pants or something as decadent as Kizmiaz. The Cramps were one-offs. Every single record shows that, and maybe they knew with Fiends Of Dope Island it would be their last. I think they did set out what they had and needed to do. Of course we would have taken more. I wish I was one of the lucky ones who got to see The Cramps. Any line-up, I don’t care. I’d have just loved to have seen them.

So there we have it. All eight records written about. All eight records listened to more carefully than usual, and loved more than before.

Viva The Cramps!

 

THE CRAMPS: Big Beat From Badsville

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Here comes record number seven with a blazing smack to the choppers. Big Beat From Badsville is the coolest sounding record I ever did hear. Does the record sound as cool as its name? It’s The Cramps! Of course it does! Now, let me give you a few hundred words about why this record will ease any mood, why this record feels like it could be up there as one of the best things you’ll ever hear.

The most important thing to note about this record is that it is the only record by The Cramps that doesn’t have any cover songs in. the brilliant thing about The Cramps is that they make you forget that a chunk of their songs are actually covers. They make it their own. They made whatever genre of music you want to lump them in their own. They are the loudest band you’ll ever need. Hell..they’re the only band you’re going to need.

Big Beat From Badsville came out in 1997. Its 20 years old, and it sounds like it easily could have been one of their first records. Maybe just after A Date With Elvis. The songs are as smutty as ever. They are wonderfully sleazy especially on songs like I Walked All Night, It Thing Hard-On and of course, Like A Bad Girl Should. This record has ALL the hits. It has the songs that you need to play at any party. Just play this record, and go have a great time. You can play it loud whilst at home by yourself, play it to a lover or force friends to listen to it. Whatever your mood, just play this record as loud as you can. If they turn their noses up at these genius-like songs, then kick ‘em out. Then kick out the jams!

This may be their second to last record, and it really doesn’t sound like a bad that had it in them to quit. I reckon if Lux was still here, they’d be busting up stages and giving the kids a seductive fright. Badass Bug is such a brilliant Rockabilly song. You can picture them recording this in the studio and possibly just having the best time imaginable doing so. It’s such a great song to let everything go to. Just flail your limbs about. Do whatever you want!

What I absolutely love about The Cramps is their ability to make you feel utterly free. You can be stuck in a situation that is ruining your soul, but as soon as you play this record it makes you feel so free. They just take you some place that nothing else can. Like A Bad Girl Should is such a filthy song, and if anyone else sang it- you’d probably just dismiss it but Lux does it in a way that just makes you smirk and probably think about the person you lust after. That lust shouldn’t ever fade if you’re with them. Like A Bad Girl Should is an unconventional love song.. I love how out there it is. I love how it sounds a little stalker-ish. Thing is, Lux doesn’t make any of this creepy. I love Devil Behind The Bush- you can easily tell what this is about. You’re probably a prude if you don’t get it. I reckon even the biggest prudes of them all could find a song by The Cramps that they love. Find one, and shock them with a song by The Cramps!

If I was ever looking for a record by The Cramps to reinforce or even justify (as if I need to) my love for them, I’d probably use this one. I love that it is all of their songs. I love how outrageous Lux got with the lyrics on this one. He truly lets it all go on this record, and you know what- it really makes you miss him.

THE CRAMPS: Flamejob

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Record number six. What could The Cramps give us with their sixth record that they hadn’t already? They didn’t need to prove anything, they never did. Flamejob is one of their most underrated records, and it is easily one of their most boldest records.
If any song summed them up, it has to be I’m Customised. It just describes them fully. One-offs. Entirely rare. Nothing like them since. This is one of their most Rockabilly/Psychobilly sounding records. I think this might be evident the most on Sado County Auto Show. It’s a massively underrated record and it shows just how great Lux and Ivy were at producing records. Flamejob also came out on Creation. I didn’t know that and I feel that I should have. Silly me!

The Cramps took their time in between records, and it shows that a lot of thought, time and care went into these records. The magical thing about The Cramps records is that none of their records consist of fillers. Every single song deserves to be there. Every single song deserves to be heard loud and repeated over and over.

Yet again it is another record by The Cramps that shows just how underrated Poison Ivy is as a guitarist. She is one mean guitarist. Her style is so distinctive and raw. There is nobody else quite like her, and I adore her sound on Strange Love. With every record she just sounds stronger and more determined. Lux and Ivy have always had that. This determination they had together is shown on classic styled songs like Swing The Big Eyed Rabbit. There was something about them that made you realise instantly there was something special about them and what they were going to do.

I feel I haven’t discussed artwork to their records enough, and I know I could have easily done this with the records I’ve written about before. But, there is something about the artwork to Flamejob that really stands out for me. I love that Lux did the artwork, and took this photo of Ivy. I love her stance and how partially futuristic she looks. I love the orange and red giving off the fire background. I love her leather outfit and the way she looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. Or you might. Depends on what you’re into. This cover is one of my favourites, and I just love everything about how you can tell a lot of thought was gone into it. It’s a precise piece of art- like everything they did. It’s nothing short of stunning.

You can’t help but really get into Mean Machine, Let’s Get Fucked Up, Inside Out and Upside Down (With You)- I could just list the whole record to be honest. Like I said, I reckon this might be one of their most underrated records. I love that Creation put it out also. I definitely need to find myself a copy of this record as soon as I get paid. Or ask someone nicely to get me it for my birthday. It’s got this feel to it that I hadn’t gotten before from their records. Maybe it’s sensing a heavier sound almost, I don’t know. But like I’ve mentioned before- The Cramps had a distinctive sound, and it is always a pleasure to just listen to them.

Flamejob again had Slim Chance on bass, but on drums there was the remarkable Harry Drumdini. The one thing I have always loved about The Cramps is that they always had loud drummers. I love drummers who are unapologetically loud and play with all they have.

Alright so that’s number six done! Go listen to it and make your Monday morning less painful.

THE CRAMPS: Look Mom No Head!

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I’ve got a few reasons as to why I am excited to write about this record. The main reason being- Iggy Pop is on it! The Cramps AND Iggy?! Oh man..what a time to be alive! I also love the artwork to Look Mom No Head! I think it could be my favourite. This is definitely one of my favourite records by The Cramps too.

The record opens with the dominating Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots. It sounds a little different to what we’ve heard before by The Cramps. The guitar is a lot of heavier on this song, and it just shows how brilliant Ivy is. No one can really compare or compete with her, and she’s truly not given the recognition that she deserves.

There’s one other thing that I need to mention here. The drummer on this record is Jim Sclavunos. That’s right, THE Jim Sclavunos. You probably know him from being part of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. He’s up there as one of the greatest drummers of all time- ask anyone. In 8 days I will FINALLY get to see The Bad Seeds in concert. I’m so excited to see all of them. That’s the closest I’m ever going to get to The Cramps! Jim’s drumming on this record gave The Cramps a different and heavier sound. There is something about this record that takes you aback slightly. It feels like something got stirred inside the band, and Look Mom No Head! was born.

The record is made up of some brilliantly named songs such as Bend Over I’ll Drive, I Wanna Get In Your Pants and Eyeball In My Martini. These songs are just insanely great. Like I said, it’s definitely a heavier sounding record, but that sound of The Cramps that we all adore is still there. That sound never ever left. There was no way it could. They could have done an Opera record and you’d still know it was them. There is something so powerful and distinctive about The Cramps. No one else comes close.

Iggy features on the rowdy Miniskirt Blues. Their voices together is just ridiculous. It is such a fantastic song and the way their voices go together is just amazing. You can’t help but wish that they did more together. Imagine if they did a full record together and took it on tour. It would have been wild. It would have been so sordid and beautifully debauched. Lux and Iggy are two of the greatest frontman and singers of all time, and for them to do this song together is just such a great moment.

Look Mom No Head! is a wild record. Songs like Two Headed Sex Change and Blow Up Your Mind are so good. Two Headed Sex Change is such a ferocious song. I’d have loved to have seen this live. I really love Ivy’s guitar on this one. For me it is definitely one of those songs that make you realise how great The Cramps were. It really does show how amazing they all were and are, as musicians.

I adore how Lux’s voice sounds on I Wanna Get In Your Pants. I would have loved Iggy to have featured on this one too. It’s such a sleazy song, and you cannot help but laugh at some of the things Lux says.

Look Mom No Head! was ahead of its time, like everything The Cramps did. It’s such a filthy and smutty record, and I love it. It’s easily up there as one of my favourite. Not just by them, but of any record. I love how strong they all sound and how it has such a tight sound to it. I could happily play this record over and over. It definitely is the band at their strongest and strangest.