Continuing in my attempt to get some last reviews in before we hit 2022, for some albums that I was late in getting to, or that were just too late to get into my end of year blog posts.
Next up its some old school punk rock n’ roll courtesy of Hull’s Filthy Filthy. Having noted that I hadn’t featured many albums that could be classified as “punk” in my top 25 albums of the year, I’ve been enjoying this and the debut from Year Zero which was also released in the latter stages of the year. More on Year Zero in another post though..
Don’t start the party without Filthy Filthy, this album is all about gettin’ up off yer sofa’s and gettin’ down, Getting Away with It is full throttle good time punk ‘n’roll, no gimmicks, no frills, just good old riff laden, dirty bass and thunderous drums rawk ‘n’ roll with a punk edge.
Crack open a beer and press play… and kicking things off in style is the high adrenaline rush of the album’s title track, a song that wouldn’t sound out of place alongside Dirt Box Disco, in fact, the chorus puts me in mind of I Just Want to Be a Girl. Following that, and to to keep the party going it is the boogie-woogie blues influenced sound of My Baby’s Got the Shakes. Meterorite keeps things upbeat, the whole thing underlined by an infectious loose twangy bass groove.
And so the party songs continue, Too Far Gone bemoaning an overindulgence in the falling down juice impacting the ability of nature to take its course…because of course its all about living for the rifftastic Weekend (although they do signal that “it shouldn’t be the way”).
They don’t wanna be your Dee Dee Ramone, they don’t wanna be sedated, they don’t wanna be your dog, they wanna be your Throwaway Lover as the riffing continues apace. The key themes of the album seem to be drinking and relationships as the punked up Boyfriend asks the question “whatcha gonna do when I’m gone”.
That bass groove returns on Listen to the Radio, one of my favourite tracks on the album with its singalong refrain, music on the radio the escape from the trials of a difficult relationship. The Ramones once went down the soulful 60s girl and route with Baby I Love You, unfortunately the feelings don’t seem to be reciprocated here on Baby Don’t Love Me… sliding scale riffs taking the edge off the disappointment.
The final song on the album kind of underlines the whole album in its title – Old Skool Rock n Roll – taking things back to the 70s/80s with its rhythms and riffs, Kiss-ing things up towards the end. A perfect end to this high adrenaline rush of an album.