Reviews

Dead Beat

Illegal Leather Raw Meat LP

Anyone who has followed Marco Palumbo’s exploits over the past couple of decades with his bands the GAGGERS, DISCO LEPERS, and others, knows that the London frontman has mastered the art of crafting catchy ’70s-style garage bangers, and ILLEGAL LEATHER’s cold and caustic sound pulls this classic energy into the modern age. Equipping their simple and snotty approach with digital drums and dual male/female vocals, the band makes some of the least boring pop music ever to dabble in the realms of “new wave,” keeping it urgent and never crossing into “cute.” Right from the mechanical melancholy of the anthemic opening track, I can’t help but be reminded of the SPITS. It’s timeless style delivered with machine precision and a fun sci-fi edge, grounded firmly in reality by the gun-toting gimp who graces the cover.

Poison Boys Out of My Head LP

You wouldn’t get any arguments calling this punk, but you could for sure make an argument that this is pub/street rock’n’roll. It’s catchy and mid-tempo and solid. Certain cuts bring a classic rock’n’roll/bluesy element that reminds me of stuff the Chiswick label was putting out in the late 1970s. Nice.