Today found me listening to a pair of recent releases by new (well, one is not so much with the "new" part) artists that immediately brought to mind some great music from the past.
Airbourne are the latest hard rock exports from Australia, following in footsteps of bands like AC/DC, Jet, Spiderbait, The Datsuns (okay, New Zealand in this case), The Casanovas, and The Vines (some bands obviously more successful than the others when it came to making an impact here in the States). But rather than relying on the third (fourth?) wave of garage rock revival to make an impact, Airbourne goes directly to the source material for inspiration and riff borrowing - in this case the three cord swagger and stomp of AC/DC themselves. True, Airbourne are completely derivative and unoriginal, but they also lack the hipster irony and mainstream aspirations that have sunk many a revivalist. These four dudes want nothing more than to get drunk, get laid, and worship at the altar of Bon Scott and Angus Young. I mean, check out these song titles - "Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll", "Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women", "Hellfire" - the agenda is pretty clear. Thing is, this manages to be one of the most flat-out fun rock albums I've heard in awhile. No needless wankery, no hardcore breakdowns, no hipster posturing - just balls out, horns up, riff-tastic rock and roll. Bon would be proud.
Airbourne - "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" (taken from Runnin' Wild)
Airbourne - "Fat City" (taken from Runnin' Wild)
Jumping back a little further in time, we have the debut EP from Foxboro Hot Tubs, a (assuredly) trio that traces it's lineage and inspiration back a little further, the early rock and roll 1960's to be more specific. The EP, Stop Drop and Roll, is a sixteen minute blast of upbeat pop that channels early rock pioneers like Tommy James and the Shondells and The Kinks, but with a distinctly familiar pop-punk tinge. It all sounds vaguely familiar, but for good reason - Foxboro Hot Tubs are actually another "secret" side project from pop-punk superstars Green Day, ala The Network and their new-wave 2003 album Money Money 2020. Apparently killing some studio time while recording the follow-up to mega-seller American Idiot, the band threw this EP together and gave it away for free on the Foxboro Hot Tubs' website for a brief amount of time. Those looking for an easy indicator as to what these songs sound like should look no further than Green Day's cover of "Tired of Waiting For You" from the Shenanigans compilation. Hard to say whether or not this experiment will inform future projects by the band, but for now its a fun little release that any fan of old-timey, easily digestible rock and roll will enjoy. Click on the link below for the entire EP.
Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll EP
No comments:
Post a Comment