The Dandy Warhols – Pin Ups
The Dandy Warhols take the lead from Bowie in releasing Pin Ups, a compilation of covers from across their illustrious career, some faithful to the originals, but many of them re-worked in The Dandy Warhols own inimitable style. There are seventeen tracks in total from 1960s Dylan, The Byrds and The Beatles, through seventies rock to punk and beyond into post punk, goth and alternative rock territory of the 80s and 90s.
Probably the main highlights are the songs they’ve re-worked, starting with the album’s opener Cherry Bomb flipping things around as they do on Kiss Off, with Courtney taking lead voval on the former and Zia on the latter. Elsewhere there is the masterful manipulation of The Cure’s Primary into a boisterously thumping dance anthem while The Damned’s Love Song is given a dark distorted electronic makeover, and The Cult’s Rain is dripping with hippy psychedelia, the band get the honour of two covers, the other being She Sell’s Sanctuary with a backdrop of sweeping synth noise. While it is more faithful to the original, there are also trippy psych elements added to their sensitive take on Straight to Hell from The Clash and is certainly another of the albums highlights for me,
Purists will probably be squirming when they hear Dylan and The Beatles covered, both of which have been given the respect they deserve, while others may baulk at the inclusion of Beautiful People based on the controversy around its creator, regardless of how interesting their more minimalistic take on the song is. All in all this is a great listen, all the better for the fact it isn’t just a bunch of note perfect covers with the band having made their own mark on the songs here.
The Darts US – Halloween Love Songs
It feels weird writing about an album called Halloween Love Songs in the throes of Spring (mind you, you wouldn’t know based on the weather…), there are certainly no songs about gambolling lambs or lovers frolicking in fields of daffodils here, unless perhaps they are zombie lambs and all the daffodils are dead, and it is Vampires that are in Love.
As the opening strains of the baleful sound of a solitary music box fade, the familiar sound of Nicole’s keyboard kicks in and she sings the refrain of Midnight Creep, I’m immediately transported right back to the front row of a gig in The Rum Shack and faithfully following the moves as instructed… The Darts is a band that thrives in the live environment but I have to say, the thirteen songs on offer here go a long way to reproducing that, even the retro sound of the keyboard alone has images of Nicole writhing about the stage flooding back. At the core of the bands sound is gloriously fuzzed up sixties garage rock, but with elements of horror punk and surf punk mixed in for good measure. Songs like Blood Run Cold leave you breathless such is the raucous rapid fire nature of it’s delivery, I can feel myself perspiring on the dance floor just thinking about it, even the following song Vampires in Love which gives the impression initially that it will be more laid back has a blistering intensity to it. This rattling fervency is something which doesn’t let up throughout the album, and with the thirteen songs clocking in at just shy of 40 minutes, these are all hell-raising short, sharp injections of potent potions, shot straight into your dark soul, you’ll be helpless to resist and bewitched by the spells woven by their spooky grooves, not a note is wasted and none of the songs overstay their welcome.
Despite the album title, and the spooky nature of the song titles I can safely say The Darts is for life not just Halloween. As they indicate on the album track, when you’ve got songs as catchy as these, Every Night is Halloween, the song itself with an almost crooner like late night jazz cub feel to it.. I’m holding out for the announcement of their next visit to Glasgow… this band is welcome to Haunt Me forever.
The Deadlians – Rid the Land of Greedy Toads
A “new to me” band that have been on the go for several years now, I’m just glad that Rid the Land of Greedy Toads, The Deadlians second album, which was initially released in 2024 in Ireland, has now come onto my radar allowing me to investigate their debut album and earlier singles.
At the centre of it’s being the sound is shaped from traditional Irish folk music but on top of that the band have layered influences across genres to bring the music up to date for a young modern audience, much like young folk punk rebels Brògeal have been doing in Scotland. The album opens in formidable style with the incessant brooding beat of Prince Fingallian mixing driving guitars with traditional instruments, as the song gives way to Secret Garden, the brooding beat remains but pace lifts on a tale of hope and resilience when all feels lost, with a touch of psychedelia thrown in for good measure, things get heavier again with Al Captain Ignorance giving of Stooges vibes with a heavy throb of guitars at is core. Jaws sees your Al Captain Ignorance and raises you, taking crunching distorted riffs, pairing them with pounding drums and a fraught vocal that results in a song that crackles with an electrically charged energy.
Songs like the laidback charm of Cheeky Monkey, and the wonderful A la Mode de France lean more heavily on the more traditional folk elements while losing none of the power or emotive nature of the songs. Staying with that more laidback feel, the album closes in style with an emotional ballad, Go and Leave Me, with the additional of muted trumpet adding a welcome extra texture to the mix.
The Deadlians deserve to be up there with Fontaines DC and Kneecap in terms of the success, bringing their own blend of folk-punk to the masses, and how could you not agree with the sentiment of the albums title?