SEPARATE
BEDS? I DON'T THINK SO - Nervous
Shakes (Nun)
Been a long time between drinks for me in that neck of the woods, but Belgium
gets an unfairly bad wrap in most travel guides. How can you go wrong in a
country with bars that stock 400 different kinds of beer, 
many
of them up to 18 percent proof? Can't tell you much about the rock and roll
scene these days but that ain't boring! It's also what makes me think these
Belgian Shakes are probably not nervous, more like "morning after nerve-damaged".
If you're going to drink lots of Belgian beers, these guys would make great
accompaniment.
The clue to a good time in the rock and roll garage is, more often than not,
in the backline. In short, it's hard to go wrong with a drummer that swings
and a bass player that doesn't try and fill every gap. With the appropriately-named
Motor Hagen, behind the traps, and Flup'K on bass (dig those crazy Euro names!)
you have an engine room that anchors the beat admirably. Vocalist Ivan Dreini
and guitarist James Cain really put the icing on the rock cake, so to speak.
Plus the latter two write really good songs, mostly in tandem with other people.
There's a Crampsy feel to Cain's "Bad Like Me" but it's not overdone,
or parody. "Number One" (which might be an early Queers song?) comes
across as Dictators-like hard pop-rock, with a "shalalala" chorus
and 1980s Ramones breakdown. (In fact Mr Cain's probably listened to the odd
Ross the Boss lick - may as well learn from the best).
"Brat" turns the "King of the Surf" intro into a poppy
punk work-out. The hooky "Cruisin' " shows a band with a penchant
for those classic guitar intros and an ear for guitar pop's better moments.
"Can't Stand You" has uncertain lineage (is it another cover?) but
reinforces the bittersweet-but-rocking direction these cats take.
If you want to find out what the album's name's about, you'll just have to
procure a copy and glance at
the back cover. But this review is about the music. If pushed, you could probably
slip this disc somewhere between the Lower Europe cast of poppunk bands and
the more soulful, '60s-afflicted stuff coming out of Denmark and Sweden on
labels like Bad Afro. Nice warm production too. Mucho recommended.
- The Barman
