THE HARD STUFF
Various
May The Circle Remain Unbroken: A Tribute To Roky Erickson LIGHT IN THE ATTIC
Well-meaning tribute keeps two-headed dogs locked up.
The electric jug-propelled 13th Floor Elevators were briefly America’s wildest psychedelic messengers, before leader Roky Erickson’s LSD-exacerbated paranoid schizophrenia landed him six years in a mental institution by 1968. Seething with inner conflict and disturbing visions, his post-shock-treatment solo works had long forged a unpredictably compelling, if troubled, legend before his death in 2019.
Beginning with fellow Texan Billy Gibbons romping gamely through (I’ve Got) Levitation, this first posthumous tribute sees Lucinda Williams, Alison Mosshart & Charlie Sexton, Jeff Tweedy, Margo Price, Mark Lanegan and more affectionately covering the outpourings of a man who, like Syd Barrett, defied such earthly notions (illustrated by Ty Segall neutering Night Of The Vampire). Erickson’s deep, multi-headed soul is best evoked here by Chelsea Wolfe’s ethereal If You Have Ghosts, the Black Angels’ hallucinogenic Don’t Fall Down and Brogan Bentley’s poignant title track.
Kris Needs
Ellen Foley
Fighting Words URBAN NOISE
Vintage jukebox Americana from veteran Clash and Meat Loaf collaborator.
Mick Jones has long denied juicy rumours that his stormy romance with Ellen Foley inspired the Clash classic Should I Stay or Should I Go? True or not, Missouri-born actor-singer Foley has still earned her place in rock history, from duetting with Meat Loaf on Bat Out Of Hell to collaborating with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, and the Clash themselves.
Written mostly by Paul Foglino, Foley’s fifth solo album sticks comfortably within jukebox Americana conventions, from the politely raunchy Joan Jett-style riff-stomper Are You Good Enough? to the Springsteen-lite saloon-bar blast I’m Just Happy To Be Here. Now 70, Foley can still belt out Broadway-sized anthems, although she shines more on tender, world-weary numbers like the sloppy-drunk country-blues lament I Call My Pain By Your Name. She also pays homage to her late musical mentor Jim Steinman with a soaring, sparkly cover of Meat Loaf’s Heaven Can Wait.
A pretty straight collection, but Foley’s semi-legend status is secure.
Stephen Dalton
Neighborhood Brats
Confines Of Life DIRT CULT
Californian punks get on their soapbox and bring the good times.
California’s Neighborhood Brats are not messing about with the subject matter on their third album; try on Harvey Weinstein (Is A Symptom), All Nazis Must Die and I Weep For The Future for size. This is political, liberal, ecologically and socially concerned, fist-raising punk rock at its finest.
Weighty subjects, for sure, but good grief they’re having fun with it. The uncontained energy pinging around We’ll Find You, a full-pelt Ramones-style tumble of guitars tripping away under Jenny Angelillo’s urgent, Joan Jett-cool vocals, is infectious, while All Nazis Must Die unfurls into a joyous surf instrumental, the title left to speak for itself.
The death of punk has been proclaimed on a regular basis since around 1978, but when bands come through with this kind of youthful energy and emotional intelligence, along with an overstuffed bag full of things they want to get off their chest, you can be confident that it’s going to be in rude health for another generation.
Emma Johnston
Resurrection Kings
Skygazer FRONTIERS
More hard rock heaven from Ronnie Dio’s right-hand man.
Dio alumnus Craig Goldy has hit a rich creative streak in recent times, audibly driven by a desire to keep his former boss’s musical world alive. Again teaming up with drummer Vinnie Appice and ex-Bonham vocalist Chas West, here guitarist Goldy has conjured another perfectly pitched batch of fiery hard rock anthems, outstripping this band’s self-titled debut by some distance. The title track is an absolute joy, with West’s soulful rasp its wide-eyed, human heart, and strong, nourishing shades of Dream Evil-era Dio collide with rampaging Rainbow Rising vibes. The rest ranges from the classic thunderousness of World’s On Fire and the bluesy Tears to the doomy AOR of Angry Demons and the snotty, Whitesnake-like strut of Troubled Soul, with the seemingly ageless Appice propelling everything along with his usual brutal swagger.
File this next to Goldy’s equally glorious Dream Child project as a vital and vivid salute to the greatest of times.
Dom Lawson
Marillion
With Friends At St David’s EARMUSIC
Prog veterans bust out the strings and French horns on stirring live album.
A live version of a studio album of old songs re-recorded with a string quartet might seem like stretching an idea to breaking point, but Marillion are too classy for With Friends At St David’s to feel like a cash-in.
A recreation of 2019’s recorded at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall at the end of that year, its 11 tracks favour lush intimacy over bone-headed bombast. The likes of and are enhanced rather than swamped by the additional musicians, although the band still allow themselves to cut loose on the referencing mash-up . Yet the aural soft furnishings don’t de-fang the frustration that fuels of all-too-prescient climate or the raw anger that courses through Marillion’s grand anti-Brexit statement .
