The GC5
Never Bet the Devil Your Head
Cosa Nostra
Forget about punk rock, this album is flat out butt-kicking rock and roll. Sure it’s punk rock, but dammit, I’m sick to death of bands and records getting shunted aside into some damn punk rock ghetto because of the way the band dresses, the venues they play, or the singer’s vocal approach.
Simply put, this is the best rock record I’ve heard in a couple years. Improving on and fulfilling the promise of their full length 2000 debut Kisses From Hanoi (reviewed elsewhere herein by your author as well), the band shows real growth without losing the intensity of their earlier work.
In the same sonic ballpark as bands like The Clash, Swingin’ Utters, Sham 69, and Rancid, here The GC5 also through in a little Celtic feel here and there (as on “Breakin’ Down,” and check the mandolin on “When All Else Fails”), but the Clash-style rave-ups, like the opener “The Long Goodbye,” are still here too. Chuck Berry via Johnny Thunders guitars, with amped-up rockabilly sting-bends, double-stops, and half-step slide-ups abound. Mellower songs, like “Lies And Prophesies” and “When All Else Fails” don’t detract from the power of this outing, matching the sonic intensity of the rockers with their own emotional depth and smart lyricism.
You need this album.
The GC5: http://www.theGC5.com
