Reviews

Spaghetty Town

Brad Marino Agent of Chaos CD

BRAD MARINO has been working the seam between rock’n’roll and power pop for a long time now, first with New Hampshire’s the CONNECTION and now five albums into a solo run. He covered the RAMONES’ Subterranean Jungle front to back in 2020, then put out a 2024 EP called Ramones and Stones whose title track happily admits he doesn’t much need anything else. Agent of Chaos works that same ground, but sounds closer to Pleasant Dreams than Too Tough to Die. What keeps it from being a costume is that it doesn’t feel like MARINO is impersonating anyone. He’s carrying the thing forward rather than wearing its skin. Thirteen songs in thirty-three minutes, with Gene Champagne of TEENAGE HEAD behind the kit for most of the way, and my favorite tracks are “Voodoo” and “Devil May Care,” the latter breaking up the formula with some lap steel from James Cap Nunn. I usually want records louder and faster than this, and mid-tempo is a hard sell for me, but these songs just sound exactly like what they ought to be. The CD has a bonus cover of the JESUS AND MARY CHAIN’s “Between Planets.”

Faz Waltz Rebel Kicks LP

I don’t know what’s in the water in Italy, but they’ve been responsible for some of the finest cuts of pure bovver glam in the vein of peak-era SWEET (R.I.P. Steve Priest) or T. REX in recent memory. Like fellow compatriots GIUDA, FAZ WALTZ are of the particular school of thought that music peaked in about 1974, clearly worship at the altar of His Sainted Majesty Noddy Holder, and wholeheartedly believe that too much thinking gets in the way of having a good time; and this could not be more evident in their latest effort. Eleven tracks of defiant, hip-swingin’, foot-stompin’ glitter boogie aimed squarely at your pleasure centres. Do yourself a favour, put on your best clobber, switch off your brain and have a good old mirror strut for the next half hour or so. You won’t regret it.

Los Pepes Out of the Void LP

Delivered from a multicultural London setting, Out of the Void is a classic punky power pop record. Infused with beachy guitar and ’60s-influenced sounds, LOS PEPES know who they want to be. However, this LP was generally unimpressive and sounds too overproduced. The drums aren’t too creative, maintaining their kick and cymbal-heavy rhythms without much deviation. I didn’t care too much for the vocals; there isn’t that harsh quality to vocalist Ben Perrier’s voice, which would make for a more interesting listen. Otherwise, the guitar on “Sweet Appeasement” has a great tone, groovy synth, and it’s the best song on the LP. They change pace a bit in “Undercover,” getting faster before the record ends. Honestly, LOS PEPES seem like they’d be better live than recorded, which must be true considering their impressive booking schedule. My prescription: Listen to Out of the Void live for better results and less studio dampening.

Mala Vista Fun-Time LP

It’s hard to even care about this band. It’s mind-numbingly basic, and not in a good way. It uses tired punk rock clichés until it’s dried up. I’ll give it this though, “Juana La Cubana” is pretty good. It has a nice groove and chorus going for it. Aside from that, I can’t really give this LP that many props. It was so boring the first time I listened through it that I practically forgot it even existed until I had to revisit it for this review. It’s not intolerable, it’s just quite dull and boring to my ears.

Sick Bags Only the Young Die Good 12″

Good rock n’ roll is like pie—even if I’m already full, I can always fit in one slice. Even if I’ve spent all day listening to the stuff, glutting myself on boogying beats and barroom riffs, along comes a swift six-song EP like this and I’ll happily throw it on. It’s not breaking the mold, but it’s fun and recorded well. At its best it reminds me of NEW BOMB TURKS, which is high praise in my book. Plenty of hooks and swagger abound, though I don’t know if I’d have seconds.

The Scaners X Ray Glasses: On EP

I’ve had enough of DEVO-core. Okay, I haven’t, but this single posits something maybe even more up my alley: NUMAN-core. Lyon’s the SCANERS hearken back to the TUBEWAY ARMY days while paying homage to garage rock in a way that sticks the landing beautifully. The B-sides work too, though not quite as much as the groovier/headier single, leaning more heavily on hard riffs than subterranean synth gloom. All-around nifty little release, though.