Badge – If It Hurts It Must Be Good (CD)

Swedish cowboy zombie punksters has decided to give us yet another well-aimed kick in the genitals. Imagine you have a venomous Led Zeppelin rat in one corner and a pissed off MC5 snake in the other. You then bring in John Spencer and let him conduct the fight between these two animals. That’s kinda what Badge sounds like. Especially the two opening tracks ”Reap What You Sow” and ”The Game”. The fight slows down a bit in ”Trapdoor” and it seems like they’ve been given some tips from an Australian contestant named Tracer. Ok, we take it down even another notch in ”In The Eye Of The Storm” and bring in the acoustic slide artillery. In ”We Will See The Light” the fight is over and the animals lay in their respective corner, licking their wounds. Some attempts to pick up the fight do occur, but both are way to groggy to even stand up. They slip and they slide, walking heavy back into the corner. ”Traitor” is most likely the victory song with its perky, strutty, guitar picking and busy drumming. In ”Step Aside” we’re back in the game again, loser still as groggy, but mind dead set on revenge. No way this fella can walk a straight line. Falls over, trips, gets up, falls again. Damn, this is getting weird. ”Mapped Out Trail” yep, it may be. But now Raging Slab throws a punch, trying to interfere. Succeeds, too! Game over. ”Yet To Come”. The victor walks out, head high, back straight, middle finger in the air. This is f***ng weird, and I f***ing love it!

Janne Stark

Label: Perennity Records

Year: 2015

Country: Sweden

PONTUS SNIBB – Wreck Of Blues (CD digi)

Pontus Snibb is probably most publically known for his work as singer/guitarist with diesel rockers Bonafide or as drummer in Jason & The Scorchers, but he actually started out playing straight ahead blues and has released some great stuff in that genre as well, such as Admiral Street Recordings I and II. He recently also released a riff rocker under the moniker Pontus Snibb 3, or PS3. Wreck Of Blues is however released under his own name and here he goes back to the down and dirty blues roots. It’s not your average white-guy-trying-to-mimik-Robert-Johnson style blues, but heavy and dirty blues rock with a twist. The sound is organic and earthy, but still mud-filled and shit-stained in the finest of ways. The album kicks off with the chugging, upper mid-tempo More Blues And Blue Songs, with a touch of Eric Clapton in the chorus. Same Same draws more from old classic blues foxes such as BB King and John Lee Hooker mixed with early ZZ Top. The same goes for No Peace Of Mind which also makes me think of the first ZZ Top album, actually with a touch of Louder Than This by Aussie rockers Tracer. You should of course also check this album out of you’re into current blues rockers such as Philip Sayce, Gugun Power Trio, Craig Erickson or Vdelli. A high-quality blues rock effort from beginning to end, featuring Pontus’ raw-edged killer voice and first class guitar playing. Drums are handled by his dad, Håkan Nyberg (Nationalteatern) and the bass work by former Bonafider Micke Nilsson. Highly recommended!

Janne Stark

Label: Off Yer Rocka

Country: Sweden

Year: 2014

Link: www.offyerrocka.com

TWENTY TWO HUNDRED - Carnaval De Vénus (CD)

Twenty Two Hundred
Carnaval De Vénus
Tonequake Records

It's not often these days that an album hits me so hard it gets stuck in my CD player. It does happen now and then, but not like in the "old days". When the debut album by Australian band Twenty Two Hundred started spinning in the player, my listening experience was initiated by the track 7X Down, with its killer heavy riff, raw-edge bass and Tony Cardenas-Montana's rough bluesy voice. Just like fellow-Australians, Tracer, they also produced an outstanding groove making it impossible to sit still. Next track, Got It Bad, started with a gnarly, distorted, wah-wah tinged walking bass, soon accompanied by some swing drums, resting on Tony's almost jazzy added vocals, to just break loose in a crushingly heavy chorus with the whole band. Another track, with a riff that smashes everything in its way, the riff I wish I'd written, and probably Leslie West, too if he hears it, is Hitman. Here, Mark Wells delivers a guitar solo with the wah-wah at large, which fills its perfect role in the song. Stone Cold starts with a treacherous calm with some funky bass, slick drums and Tony's awesome cool voice. This song also delivers a sledgehammer chorus and a killer guitar solo. Also subsequent track, The Sun, rests on a cool funky groove in the verse, while the chorus again crushes! This is one of the things I love with this band, their feeling for nuances, to keep one part down while crushing in the next. Create some tension, like waiting for the Christmas presents. Guitarist/bassist Mark Wells has also produced the album, and I must say he has done an awesome job. He has created the same type of feel Kevin Shirley has done, especially with Tracer. Very dynamic, analogue and at the same time fat but atmospheric. That he lights up the guitars, like in the aforementioned tracks and Shot Down, lets the drums, bass and vocals handle the verse, and then let the brutal guitar loose in the chorus. I love that! I also love the band's cool mix of seventies hard rock, funky heavy rock and a big dose of groovy southern rocking blues. Outstanding groove and the band sound incredibly tight, like if they had been doing pre-production for months to feel each other off as musicians, alternatively played a hundred gigs together. Whatever, Twenty Two Hundred's album has been spinning frantically ever since I received it, and so has their first EP, and they will keep on. One of the best surprises of the year so far, and definitely a favourite! 
Janne Stark
Label: Tonequake Records
Country: Australia
Year: 2013