ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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The Perils
GOOD PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS MILITANT ENTERTAINMENT 13.04.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk Waaaaay back in 1991 Lou Barlow of grunge rockers Sebadoh demanded ‘Just Gimme Indie Rock’ – these boys do exactly that, but don’t run for the hills just yet because they do it with enough wit, panache and energy to make it worth your while to take notice. Back then Barlow lauded such alt-rock luminaries as Iggy Pop, and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. The ‘Indie’ pigeonhole has of course come to mean such a different thing in the last few years - ‘Indie’ now conjures images of derivative floppy-fringed; public school raised pasty-faced white boys playing earnest yet soulless light rock. I whacked this on for the first time on the drive home from work – and from the first bars I was finger drumming on the steering wheel. There’s a hint of that crescendoing (is that a word? If not it should be) layered guitars thing that Snow Patrol do quite well, and the opening lyric of ‘Was it because of sex, that you made a mess on the table…’ grabs your attention immediately. Highlight for me is ‘Lipstick Sister’ - a great radio-friendly clatter of infectious indie-pop – with rapid-fire sloganeering list/stream of consciousness lyrics - ‘late night/truck stop/car park/queer cop/inside/on-top’. You can imagine some red braces clad record exec on a run through of the album declaring ‘THAT’S THE SINGLE!’ Although it isn’t – first track ‘Be Your Peril’ is, but you get the drift. It’d be the next single if I was the band’s manager. Other crackers include ‘Give Me A Reason’ which has more of that cresendoing and riffing guitar thing going on along with sing-along ‘whoa-oahs’ and ‘The Highway’ which shows their mellower, pared down side. Apparently The Perils have been ripping up the live scene in their native Brighton and across the South of England – and you can hear why on this album – their crowd pleasing down ‘n’ dirty indie rock is the kind of thing that goes down a storm in small club venues. They’ve also had many tipsters including Mick Jones of The Clash, and The Buzzcocks (who they’ve toured with) claiming they’re destined for bigger things. They’ve certainly got the potential and the cracking tunes to be alt-rock NME darlings and yet still get heavy rotation on the Radio 1 playlist. www.myspace.com/theperilsarecoming |