WHAT'S
YOUR DEFINITION OF UNDERGROUND? - Neurotic Swingers (Shark Attack/Lollipop/Myrmelcoleo)
Besides posing an unanswerable question in their mini-album title, France's
Neurotic
Swingers manage to kick out some serious garage noise on this eight-tracker,
released in both their home country and Japan. I'd never heard of these would-be
Dead Boys before, but the first spin had me reaching for the repeat button.
Some may take issue but French bands actually ring some bells around the I-94 Bar. The Backsliders' latest album is on high-rotation at present, while trans-Channel band Holy Curse (the obvious supports if that Birdman Euro tour had come off) have achieved some sort of benchmark. The TV Killers are supposed to be well worth catching. The likes of NKVD Records' Steve Gardner have charted the history of 1980s French bands in some detail and most of that stuff still sounds remarkably fresh to these Australian ears. That's probably in no small part due to the cultural cross-pollination of two decades ago, whereas the licensing of Citadel products in France by the Closer and Sonics labels influenced a lot of local bands. It resulted in one of them, the underrated Fixed Up from Le Harve, making it to these shores to play and record, as well as a steady stream of Oz acts doing it in reverse.
A four-piece claiming roots in the '77 punk scene, the Neurotic Swingers are hard-edged garage punk that rides the back of a swinging engine room, a Gallic drawl and dirty guitars. They cite Thee Michelle Gun Elephant and the Heartbreakers as reference points and arguably capture a little from each, albeit without the intensity of the former or bristle-and-slop of the latter. I'm thinking New Bomb Turks here...
"Gimme the Keys" gives more than a passing nod to the Litter's "Action Woman" while the guitar action on "Burn the Floor" will please anyone with half an ear. Melody comes to the fore on the title track while "Speed Drinker" gets wings from some snarling Pascal Pachuco guitar.
Sounds like these guys might have a more than decent album in them. Any more where they came from? - The Barman
