Here come a bunch of screaming, scruffy rock n roll reprobates knocking seven bells of hell out of classic surf rock; an unlikely combination of outlaws, romantics and vintage guitar licks breaking out of the window, shinning down the drainpipe and tearing down the alley like some kind of wild cat. Shortly to support Richard Hawley on his February tour, the Bethnal Green villains release their brash, ebullient debut, ‘Gospel Bombs’ on March 10th – combining celebrated single, ‘On My Own’, ‘Blue Boy’ and ‘Pretty Girl’ with scrumptious and scurvy standard-bearers like, ‘Beast’ and ‘Sins of Love (Wah Do)’. What with all the Doo-Wop, the gumshoe vibrato guitar and the throaty, earnest battle cry of Vincent Vincent himself anybody would think Kevin Rowland had purloined Johnny Kid’s Pirates and got them kissing the gunner’s daughter.
Produced by Tom Stanley and spanning about four years of work, fans of the band may already see it as something of a Greatest Hits package. And who am I to argue?
Cracking, explosive debut in a 1950s stylee. Naturally.
‘GOSEPL BOMBS’ – RELEASED 10.03.08