Between 2018-2019, Esoteric Recordings – the prog rock subsidiary of Cherry Red Records – ran a brilliant reissue campaign for 70s band Greenslade. Their four major albums were lovingly repackaged and expanded with a wealth of live material, BBC Sessions and various alternate edits. In the case of fan favourite ‘Bedside Manners Are Extra’, the 1973 album was even coupled with a bonus DVD featuring the band’s appearance on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test, making the short set available in full, officially, for the first time. Such a good job was made of these affordable reissues that it was hoped that the campaign would be extended to include keyboard maestro Dave Greenslade’s first two solo albums – 1976’s ‘Cactus Choir’ and 1978’s lavish album and book set ‘The Pentateuch of The Cosmonololgy’ – since both deserved a similar level of TLC. Sadly, it wasn’t to be: instead, fans merely got a compilation disc presenting the best of Greenslade appended with one rare nugget – ‘Feathered Folk’, recorded live at the Reading Festival in 1973, which, in fairness, should’ve featured on the ‘Bedside’ reissue. [As of April 2025, neither of those aforementioned solo discs have had a decent CD send off; the Angel Air reissue of ‘Cactus Choir’ sounds awful, and ‘Pentateuch’ exists in an inferior edited version.]
Monthly Archives: May 2025
JUDO CHOP! – Cosmic EP
When a band advertises themselves as “throwing melodic punk, thrash metal, martial arts and Jimmy Barnes into the pit, with no rules, no ref and no care for the victor!”, you’ll get a sense of a band who value fun as much as musical prowess. Although it’s not entirely clear how one of Australia’s national heroes actually figures in Judo CHOP!’s work, the rest of those descriptors are a fairly good fit for five of the six tracks that make up their ‘Cosmic’ EP.
ELECTRIC CHILDREN – Deceivers / Blood Red River
Electric Children’s 2022 single ‘Triste Journee’ was an interesting recording. It featured prominent garage rock guitars, punchy keyboards that drew as much influence from novelty horror rock as much as 60s fare from the likes of Question Mark and The Mysterians, and topped that with a muli-lingual lyric that further escalated their slightly trashy vibe. It was certainly nothing like you’d expect from an act being promoted with the stoner rock/desert rock label. Their 2024 single ‘Scene of The Crime’ gave more of a stoner link due to a guesting Nick Oliveri, and although the recording was driven by fuzzy riffs with the tone of Queens of The Stone Age in a particularly punchy mood, the end result, again, owed a little more to garage rock. Shouting gang vocals and a massive drum sound invited stronger comparisons with a ‘Tomorrow Hit Today’ era Mudhoney, but labels aside, it was a huge step forward and an indicator of potentially great things ahead from this band.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #105
With two very different jazz numbers, a slice of alternative metal with a theatrical quality, a strong offering from a cult singer-songwriter and a track that’s practically uncategorisable, the selection for this Singles Bar adopts a little more of a “go hard or go home” approach. By casting a light on a couple of the more adventurous tracks from the last couple of weeks, this bunch of tunes might take a little longer to make an impression, but we feel that every one of these artists is bringing something of great interest to the table. What’s more, it’s probably just the beginning of a great, creative period for some of the featured performers, whether genuinely attempting to push boundaries or choosing to share some solidly familiar riffs. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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THE DRY RETCH – Straight Outta Cuba!
It’s rather common for musical artists to lighten up as the years pass, but this is to be expected with age. It’s often impossible to cling onto the anger of youth. Just ask Paul Weller or James Dean Bradfield. Even Henry Rollins sounded like a pale imitation of himself on the Rollins Band’s disappointingly lightweight swansong ‘Nice’ in 2001. There are notable exceptions, of course: the first couple of OFF! albums showcase a punk “retirement age” Keith Morris with as much fire as he had in his Black Flag days, and Slayer’s ‘Repentless’ from 2015 attacks a huge amount of energy and absolute fury, resulting in their best work for a quarter of a century. It could even rank within their top five best albums ever.
Over twenty years on from the release of their ‘Columbus Was Wrong…’ album, The Dry Retch prove to be another exception to the idea that getting older means a retreat to a safe space. ‘Straight Outta Cuba!’, released in October 2024, captures the Liverpool-based noise-makers in a savage mood, and rightly so, considering the state of the entire world at the time of its recording.