All I Wanted Was a Kebab - White Knuckle Fever (self released)

Strap yourself in. Or strap it on. It’s going to be that sort of ride.

White Knuckle Fever is Sydney duo Celia Curtis on vocals and Ross Johnston on guitar and everything else. Ross used to be 3kShort in Machine Gun Fellatio and Celia goes by the name Cruella, Lady of Steel, in macabre vaudeville act Circus Bizarre. So they should be easy to find if the cops issue a summons.

In live performance (remember that?) the duo supplements things with loops and the like. On recordings, they sound like a five-headed Hades houndog that's chewing on the scrotum of Satan. 

WKF play psychotic raunch and roll, a strain of debauched blues with lyrics about the profane and fucked up. Drugs and sex. Probably self-isolation, too, in a contemporary context. It's ideal fodder for these bizarre times.

"All I Wanted Was a Kebab" is six songs - five originals and a folky cover of Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied".

The title track opens the batting and sets things up. All she wanted was a kebab. Not chlamydia. Not a fist fight or a headjob. Johnston's brusque guitar chording escalates into some stinging slide. Withering blues harp and Curtis's in-your-face vocal add to a wild cab trip. Tell this story walking. 

The chugging slide ride of "Where the Shadow Lies" maintains the rage. The earthy "My Pussy" hits a similar (G) spot. Ms Curtis gets her chance to push her vocal to the boundaries with the walking blues of "Woodpecker Lips". She sure has some pipes and Ross is no slouch on everything else.

The boogie-strut "Some Girls (That You Should Not Excite)" ups the X-rated factor with lyrical content that would send the kidlets on Radio FBi into counselling. Like you should care. The Muddy Waters cover is nice and winds things up on a comparatively tame note.

This is the third EP for WKF. What are you waiting for? A fucking invitation from the kebab chef at Abduls? Thy're all there on their Bandcamp.