Eurovox
This Is…Eurovox
Saville Row Recordings
During low moments in the rock & roll cycle, there’s often a period of reviving older sounds. It’s a way for the music to find its way home. In the late ’90s, during the deafening and obnoxious roar of rap-metal, Eurovox would’ve been tossed to the curb. Owing their guitar-based and very British sound to late ’70s The Jam and Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Eurovox have recorded the lean, mean English pop album that Oasis should be doing.
Having energy to burn and hooks to spare, Eurovox unleash a collection of blistering rockers that’ll make your speakers pogo. It starts with “Billy No Mates,” a charging number with the thickest English accents you’ll hear this year. Equal parts The Jam and Clash, “Billy No Mates” captures the sweat-inducing highs of British clubs circa 1977-78. Sure, it’s been done before; Eurovox aren’t here to inject new sounds into the U.K. scene. For most Americans, though, this is uncharted territory. While bands from Green Day to Franz Ferdinand have professed an obvious lust for the pioneering English rock of the late ’70s, they don’t embrace it as blatantly as Eurovox.
There are times when singer Mat Hammond sounds so much like Paul Weller in his prime that it’s frightening. Plagiarism or homage? I’ll take the latter. There’s no commercial purpose in knocking off The Jam at this point; even Weller is trying to locate a hit again. No, Eurovox are simply in love with classic punk – real punk, not the watered-down mall rubbish. Their songs bring back memories as if they were released back in the day. And that’s the best compliment I can give them.
Eurovox: http://www.eurovoxuk.com
