The Lords of the New Church
Believe It or Not
NDN
Not.
That should really be a sufficient review of this three-song cash grab EP, but professionalism compels me to elaborate. The Lords of the New Church were the first punk “supergroup,” featuring Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys on vocals and Brian James from The Damned on guitar. The original band was a snarling, angry hornet that combined punk fury with Bator’s singular wit. That band released several great records, but ended in the late-‘80s, after attempting to reform without Bators.
Fast forward a decade, and with Stiv safely gone (he died in 1990 in Paris), James and original bassist Dave Tregunna have decided the time is right to try and coax some old punks into buying this limp piece of business. To be fair, it’s still exciting to hear James bang away on guitar, and although these songs don’t really go anywhere, they certainly get there with authority. Only problem is, The Lords were Stiv Bator’s band. He wrote the stuff, he sang it – he was the heart. Without a heart, things die. This is not The Lords of the New Church. That band died. R.I.P.
NDN Records: http://www.ndnrecords.com
