The Black Cheers – “The Cat, The Rat, The Bat, The Dog”
This is The Black Cheers second release and I suppose, I should know what their name refers to and I’m thinking you do, but I haven’t got a clue. But then I have a hard time describing these guys style as well but as I’ve said before, “Whattya think I am, a music writer?
These guys are not punk or hardcore, though a tune here and there could clock in as that and lead singer, Daniel O’Halloran, used to play in Darkbuster.
I’m gonna settle with that this is a rock’n’roll band which is fine with me. This is the rock’n’roll of Jerry Lee Lewis and Eddie Cochran mixed with the garage rock of the sixties adding the spirit, spit and spunk of early punk along with the rhythm and punch of AC/DC and Motorhead.
But words are nothing without the proof so let’s slip in a disk and take a listen.
“1998” has slashing, bashing crashing rhythms that press their face up against the glass exposure that separates passion from common sense. But that’s the way it goes, enlisting all the guts and action of bands like The Faces and the Stones onward to Generation X and The Clash. “I can’t wait until this is over.” Well, I can’t wait until I hear this again.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/02 1998.mp3|titles=1998]
“Not Ready” contains passionate and desperate sparks of aggression that leap from the speakers into your ears, up through your spine and into your brain just as your senses scream, “I’m not ready to go!” The boiling emotion is constrained but boils over as the tight drums try to rein in the inevitable. Punchy punk’n’drunk’n’rock’n’roll rolls on like a steamroller through your mind as you catch an electric bolt of pleasurable oblivion..
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/04 Not Ready.mp3|titles=Not Ready]
Like Little Richard ranting over an AC/DC track or maybe this is like the devil inviting you in for sensual abandonment and you wisely choose to take him up on his offer and throw eternity to the wind because, “You just don’t get it.” More frustration on display here but what you do get is a maelstrom of passion, propulsion, purpose and desire. A hurricane of pure sound, rhythm and words and my pick for best song on the album.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/07 You Don’t Get It.mp3|titles=You Don’t Get It]
With an excellent group of musicians and the raspy voice of the singer that falls somewhere between Lemmy of Motorhead and Bon Scott of AC/DC and a whole batch full of passionate songs, you know you can’t go wrong and that’s what’s right about The Black Cheers. Their sound also reminds me of a favorite band of ours back in the eighties, The Titanics, who recently started playing a few gigs again.
So they don’t fall into our neat categories of punk, metal, hardcore, animal, mineral or disease. They do fall quite easily into the categories of passion, excitement, guts and belief.
I believe in rock’n’roll as much as I believe in punk, in fact, but I believe your conception of rock’n’roll might be Led Zeppelin while mine is Little Richard, Bill Haley & The Comets, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. And I could add The Clash, The Avengers, The Circle Jerks and Johnny Cash as well.
But this is The Black Cheers take on that. And a mighty fine one it is, I tell ya. Check out this album and catch them at the Midway in a couple of weeks.
(Slimedog)
