(Dead Beat Records) www.dead-beat-records.com
The High Beams give us an abrasive half-hour blast of no-nonsense, crunchy, seedy, Heartbreakers-inspired thuggery, all lashing, crackling, high tension wires, the music as stripped down and minimalist as the sleeve. While ex-band mates The Sunday Drunks seem to go down a more Stonesy / Stooges sludgy sideroad, The High Beams floor it recklessly along some central highway out of nowheresville and hit the amphetamine addled alleyways rushing around amongst the dust and dirt of big city shitsville. From "Look At Her Run's" soundtracking, a gas guzzling, tarmac-eating journey, through "Defend Me" (choice lines: "She loves to be with the boys in the band, loves to give them a helping hand, she's giving the singer a great big thrill 'cos his drummer passed out on a handful of pills") and "Nothing Good", through to the howling, pounding comedown paranoia of the title track, complete with a tidy little stop/start guitar line, and "Living To Die". While none of them are devoid of melody, far from it, with the insistent, nagging melody of "Tell Somebody", only at the end does Mr. Mayo reveal more of a pure pop edge, with "Rocking Horses". While a lot of it is derivative (so?) - like Lori Looker being very close to The Lurkers "Take Me Back To Babylon" (yeah, cos they were so original - stop talking to yourself) - this gets better the more you play it. I admit at first I thought it a bit "Oh here we go again" but for no-frills, no holds barred punk'n'roll of the kind it is I haven't heard much better recently. Top one chaps. - Stu Gibson