Neurotic Swingers--French Fries, Guillotine & Love
Dead Beat 2004
Very few bands are able to meld the fury of punk rock n' roll with keen pop sensibility and maintain any sense of credibility. The Neurotic Swingers are one of those special bands who manage to pull this off. As such, their French Fries, Guillotine & Love CD is a real treat for the ears. In the end, it makes everything old feel new again.
In a lot of ways, the Neurotic Swingers could be thought of as France's answer to D*Generation. While the Swingers err more on the side raw-assed pure rock n' roll than their U.S. counterparts, French Fries, Guillotine & Love is still more or less in that same ballpark. This is very authentic feeling and worthy punked rock n' roll, yet the hooks are so huge and entrancing it seems a travesty these songs aren't littered over every radio station in the world. From those the most staunchly underground to the greenest of mall punkers, there's a fortune to be found in this disc.
While French Fries, Guillotine & Love compiles select cuts from the band's What's Your Definition Of Underground EP, their Art Rats LP, and a handful of new tunes, the song selection is such that this platter flows as a seamless entity unto itself. The What's Your Definition Of Underground portion shines brightest on the infectuous chorus of that EP's title track, as well as during the harshed out "Burn The Floor." The Art Rats output quickly delivers more hook-laden goodness with "Party Killer" and "I'm Just Losing My Soul." Still, the best of that batch is the massive "Straight," complete with some very nice Hanoi Rocks overtones. That feel continues during the fresh tracks on "7 Drugs In 7 Days," while "'77" offers the most original taste of the Neurotic Swingers thanks to some interesting chord shifts.
Really, there isn't a moment of letdown to be found on French Fries, Guillotine & Love. All in all, this is a great introduction to a really killer band. Rest assured, you'll be wanting to investigate the whole releases this material was culled from after an initial taste of the Neurotic Swingers. For fans of all the aforementioned bands, as well as the Backyard Babies. Very good stuff.
Score this CD directly from DEAD BEAT |
