Joan Jett's first album in 7 years is out Monday!!

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be releasing their first album in 7 years on Monday! Jett says "Unvarnished" is a very introspective album but nevertheless it will still rock!

If her performance here in Sydney at the Annandale Hotel in 2011 is any indication, age has not wearied this rocker who is Joan Jett. From "Bad Reputation" to "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" and lastly "Sinner" (ironically released on 6/6/2006), her albums since the Runaways, even a 30 year anniversary rerelease of "Album" on Record Day this April, have had a quality rate of 90% of them being great albums so I am expecting big things from  "Unvarnished".

Here's a recent interview with Joan in the Melbourne, Australia, Time Out magazine...

ANTHRAX - Anthems : An EP of covers that nearly hits the mark...

ANTHRAX - Anthems (2013 - EP)


A very good but not great EP of rock covers by an Anthrax who are back and touring more than ever. 

 

Anyone who does a ripping cover of' TNT' by AC/DC like this ain't too bloody bad in my book. I originally thought the 'Jailbreak' cover here was by the Young's etal too but it's THIN LIZZY's. 

 

Others on this 8 track include tunes by BOSTON, a JOURNEY tune, one by RUSH, and CHEAP TRICK. Also here is an original called 'Crawl' by ANTHRAX from their 2011 album 'Worship Music'. Clever ploy guys, cover what I'm sure are some rock classics in many people's eyes and slip them a newie of their own. All sound vital and kicking and would be loved by many!!! 

 

Sadly I think their own track and the cover of THIN LIZZY's 'Jailbreak' are the weaker tracks of the album. 'Crawl' feels very 80's rock and sadly the not so great parts of that eras tunes. It seems to not have the vitality that they have put in to the covers and it's too drawn out somehow. I'm sure live they kick ass - I've never had the pleasure but I've heard and read they do - but albums, like most trees, usually have a few not so good apples on them, and these are 'Anthems'.

The Night of the Living Shred!! - An evening at Blackwire Records with Hostile Objects & friends

The Night of the Living Shred!!

HOSTILE OBJECTS, HYGIENE, RAPTRZ, ONE TAKE… EARTHQUAKE!

Blackwire Records
Petersham, Sydney
Friday, July 5, 2013

Review by: Derek J. Huckel
 

I was high on anticipation tonight as I’d never seen HOSTILE OBJECTS before, who were headlining tonight, and I’d never been to this Blackwire Records venue to see a band before either but was looking forward to both. After having heard, finally, the HOSTILE... demo recently and loved it, I was excited not only to see them but figured they’d compiled some like-musically challenged minds to play with them. I wasn’t disappointed.
 
Sadly I missed ONE TAKE EARTHQUAKE, especially after seeing the pedigree of the other bands on tonight. I hope to catch them soon. 
 
The RAPTRZ were a very cool note to arrive on. They’re a 4 piece with femme singer. The tunes have lots of great chugga-chugga guitars & shouty vocals. Being lo-fi seemed to give their sound an extra edge too.

All tunes were short and sharp jabs to the solar plexus and a kick to the face and the song was done. One band members’ shirt described part of their influence - 80's San Fran band FLIPPER but faster paced - maybe also like a 90s band in Sydney too, FLYCOP. Their set- list included ‘Intro’, ‘Raptrz’, ‘Punch - If Not Me (cover)’ ‘Gun’, and ‘Keyboard Warrior’ – some of which can be found on their demo at Bandcamp (see a link below).

After a short break the clean cut Canberra band HYGIENE were up. Looking like four public servants by day, these guys pulled out some wicked chords tonight! Branding their take on tunes as fastcore, these dudes grind and ripped through numbers like 'Road Kill Stew' and tried out some new as yet untitled tunes too, many mixed with some power violence style genre chords too..

These grind core upstarts were like NAPALM DEATH but more melodic. They had many here nodding and a few skankers - there wasn't much room for much else or too many to do that here in this crowded shop.

The air in this relatively confined shop space was electric and HOSTILE OBJECTS were soon on. Seeming not to be without a great hook and catchy rhythms these guys came on and slayed crowd with their brand of thrash songs, including some from their demo, like ‘Gloom’, ‘Turkish Knives’, and then a newie ‘Eat Your Money’ from a soon to be released 7"inch.

Rod with a singing style as if to the gods and his two wing men, his Vegas pool-pissing bassist Luke Death and mild mannered guitarist Jimmy Fatal backed by powerhouse drummer Grant Rizzo, arms flailing like Animal. These guys have a background and present in bands like PERSECUTION, MURDER, TWIN CITY FACTION, FRANK RIZZO, and SUMMONUS so you might get an idea of the melding of minds that make-up HOSTILE’s music.

HOSTILE OBJECTS in full flight, Blackwire Records, 5 July 2013 (pic by Jas)

Don't Waste Your Breath’ was next, that Rod announced will be out later this year on a compilation. The closer was a crushing version of ‘Cave In’ where the band threw themselves more into it!!

And with that, the gig was done. All good guys finish on curfew which was 10 pm in this area… but still it was brilliant and a great venue!! Check it out sometime.


The bands:

ONE TAKE… EARTHQUAKE!        
Website
https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Take-Earthquake/138203832917809

3 song demo
https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Take-Earthquake/138203832917809?sk=app_178091127385&app_data


RAPTRZ
website:       https://www.facebook.com/raptrzhc?fref=ts
tunes:          http://raptrz.bandcamp.com/

 
HYGIENE
website:     https://www.facebook.com/hygienecbr
 tunes:        http://hygiene-cbr.bandcamp.com/


HOSTILE OBJECTS
website:           https://www.facebook.com/hostileobjects
tunes:               http://hostileobjects.bandcamp.com/

 

A TRIBUTE TO MISSING THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION IN 2013: A Review of their Sydney show in January 2011

The THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION were recently here in Australia and sadly I missed the gig due to one reason or another. Having seen them about 5 times over the years, and mostly brilliant shows they are too, I was saddened to have missed them this time around so as a small tribute, here's a review I wrote last time they were here in 2011 when I did see them which was not published. And what a great gig it was!!

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION

Becks Festival Bar
Wednesday 12 January 2011

 THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION hit the stage with a raucous intro which lasted  for several minutes and then ploughed into the Orange off kilter version. I thought it was the entire Orange (1994) album being played here tonight, 'and favourites' as is often done these years, but I couldn't pick some of the tunes tonight. I still loved the riotous aural mess of rock/ southern blues fucked up noise as only these three guys can make. It has structure and JON SPENCER'S howls thrown in make it so much more pleasurable for ears attuned to it that can't help but draw you in and leave you satisfied.

Orange was played three songs in then came Chicken Dog, off Now I Got Worry (1996). I wish I had a camera to capture this - my next investment. It was a cool site for the gig at the Hyde Park Barracks known as the Becks Bar for the Festival of Sydney. Its a giant canopy tent with no sides and there was a refreshing strong breeze, it was lit just right on a glorious night like tonight with these glorious sounds of JON SPENCER AND THE BLUES EXPLOSION bursting forth from the speakers and there on stage. Just a few less people and it would be sublimely perfection. Watching SPENCER in his vocal glory and guitar freak out - 'I think he might be a girls saucy dream now and then' I think to myself as I watch the gig unfold -, and JUDAH BAUER blowing in the wind mastering his guitar, while RUSSELL SIMMINS in back on drums keeping all this crazy noise on some sort of even keel moving forward. And all that without the theremin yet! And no bass in this place.

Next was She Said. They could do no wrong in my book. Then "Don't call me after 12 /That's when I'm laying in bed home with the wife/ I don't wanna be bothered nor in the morning either...” Blues X Man . Followed by Flavour ... its slow beat intro is mesmerising with the plodding sound with drums. SPENCER called for 'Yeahs' - Jon wasn't impressed with what the crowd responded with and says "It makes me feel like I'm back in New Zealand!" Subsequently the next 'YEAHS' from the surging audience got louder. He was thus pleased and on went the show. Right up next came the whacked out Bell Bottoms that has a back beat that would or could severely dislodge a bottle cap if you put your unopened beer within 20 feet of a speaker! Then a Jon Spencer guitar break that gets you in a tizzy. Then Bam! They were gone... The show had been over an hour but it felt like only minutes.

We were lucky... To much demand, stomping and hollerin', came an encore. The songs and jams I couldn't pick but in this atmosphere and the glorious EXPLOSIONS' noise... It was a heaven for many a folk present here tonight! Then came Magical Colours from their album Acme (1998) - not a fave of mine... but I was to have my mind changed tonight on this song. I thought 'It's a nice mellow number in a beautiful somehow disharmonious-but-harmonious repertoire' ...for just as they'd worn us out, this slow number tricks you, you feel as though though the beat that carries you is lowering you down into a metaphorical cool calm clear water with its soothing guitar tones and drums - it then changes to a chica-chica-chica hypnotic rhythm that builds, feeling like its winching you back up an ascending wall of noise until you get to the precipice! You are then pushed over and you feel as though falling down the winding whirring screeching drum bashing and guitar screeching feedback wall again... 'Wow!!!' I thought, left open mouthed. What a reinvention of a tune and giving me a new respect for this song, an even more heightened respect for this trio of muso's, and definitely encouraging me to give multiple more listens to this song.

Apparently, so I read, the JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION don't play together much anymore – but last year re-released some of their albums with other and demos, etc.- but now playing more in their other bands now - like SPENCERS' HEAVY TRASH, BAUERS' THE DIRTY DELTA BLUES BAND (a lot backing CAT POWER) or SIMMINS' MEN WITHOUT PANTS. I'll be definitely be there to see them if they do or their other bands play here in Sydney. Smiles. I'd encourage you to do the same! Sadly Brisbane missed out on their gig the next day due to floods...

 

 

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION website

www.thejonspencerbluesexplosion.com/

 

 

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - Bellbottoms (from album "Orange")