We Three And The Death Rattle - WTATDR (Paw Purr Records)
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| We Three And The Death Rattle - WTATDR |
I've been looking forward to this
album for a while but it seems to have slipped past me as it was released over
a month ago and I've only just noticed! No matter, good things come to those
who wait and, even though I didn't realise I was waiting, this is a very good
thing indeed. We Three And the Death Rattle go from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds
as 'Down Out And Deep Fried' and 'Hot Neptune' burst in like Sandy at the end
of Grease but with a rottweiler as the end of a chain, a pierced tongue and
tattoos on her face. What's more, she doesn't care if she gets Danny or not,
she just wants to get loaded and start a fight. 'Stitches And Winners'
continues at the same pace with Joan Jett guitars and Karen O's vocal sneer
before 'Split Lips' snakes in with hypnotic guitar work and chugging drums like
a old but reliable factory machine.
For all their cool and swagger,
though, WTATDR are defiantly British as lyrics about scrambled eggs and self
service checkouts prove. There is scratchy rawness to 'Inpatients' that is
reminiscent of how the Long Blondes might have sounded if they'd been more
interested in blues rock than disco and the lyrics of "I found God on the
bathroom floor" should be written in tipex on the folders of college kids
across the country before long. The marvellously name 'Bipolarcoaster' is up
next and is full of dirty, swampy guitars battling with electro drones under
the sultry, seductive vocals of front-vixen Amy. Stomping recent single
'Alligator' drones in to view with its wild west references before giving way
to 'Double Or Quits' which is all Patti Smith cool and rhythmic appeal. The
great thing about this trio is that they're not doing anything particularly
complex or intricate but the approach to giving the blues a real 21st century
facelift and injecting it with raw sex appeal is musical genetic engineering of
the highest order.
'Hey Detonator!' demands your
attention but if I was to make one criticism it would be that the vocals are a
tad too clean and high in the mix - that's like criticising a woman for being
too beautiful though, kinda pointless. By the time you get to 'You're My
Ammunition' you get a feel for the uncompromising and slightly aggressive tone
of this album but the industrial, futuristic tones are of this tune are still a
delight as they channel the Black Keys but with a cyborg Beth Ditto on vocal
duties. 'Bitten By The Dust' brings the album to a close with frantic beats and
a sense that, to use a football analogy, WTATDR wanted to leave everything out
on the pitch. My advice to you would be not to wait any more than I already
have, got yourself a copy of this album and then go out working on dark streets
with it in blaring out in your ears. This is great stomping music.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/wethreeandthedeathrattle?fref=ts