NASTY IDOLS - review added 30th March 2009
Album Review: Boys Town (2009)
For fans of: sleaze rock... and not the usual Scandinavian musical style
Swedish band Nasty Idols have been around since the wild days of 1987. After a decade-long hiatus between '95 and '05, they are now back with album no.5, Boys Town. The band consists of original members Dick Qwarfort on bass and vocalist Andy Pierce, long time member Peter Espinoza on guitar and (fairly) new boy Rikki Dahl on drums.
The sound is sleaze with a capital S, but also grown-up with a capital G. It's the sort of music that'll leave a fag butt on your sofa, a used condom on your hi-fi, then discuss ways to improve the payout from your pension fund. It's akin to a filthy-minded gigolo in a Gucci suit.
Opening track 'Rock Out' sums up the album perfectly. It's fast, uncomplicated and straight to the point, even though the musicianship and production are, in places, mightily impressive. The vocals are like a gravelly version of Phil Lewis from L.A. Guns or an understated Jizzy Pearl from Love/Hate.
'Scar For Life' is a few notches louder and heavier. The vocals in the chorus are particularly forceful and demand all stereos to be cranked to the point of distortion. 'Nite Like This', just to be awkward, heads in completely the other direction. A sleaze ballad is something to behold, and this actually ends up as one of the best tracks on the album. It isn't groundbreaking or mind-numbingly superb, but it has a slow and slutty appeal.
'Crashlanding' is up there too. A much faster, adrenaline infused track, it'll have you stomping around like a like a bull at a rodeo. '48 Hours' has an eye openingly catchy chorus. The main body of the song is standard, the bridge special, the climax literally climactic. There are overtones of Motley Crue in the vibe, although the rhythm section isn't as heavy.
'7 Year Itch' goes totally leftfield with a pogo stick of a drum beat. The track is more bouncy than a wallaby on an inflatable castle... and great fun. 'Evil One' is the real surprise of the album... at least to start with. For the first twenty seconds. it sounds like a power metal track - very downtuned and full of pinched harmonics, velocitized drumming and death metal howls. The main body of the track reverts to style, although a hint of the heaviness remains and gives the song a guttural facet.
Boys Town does what it does very well. There isn't a huge amount of the album that's totally outstanding, but if you're a fan of the whole sleaze genre this ain't half bad. The second half is definitely an improvement on the first, but the whole shebang is worthy of your ear time.
Check out... The Start of 'Evil One'.
Track List:
1. Rock Out
2. Boys Town
3. Method To My Madness
4. Scar For Life
5. Nite Like This
6. Crashlanding
7. 48 Hours
8. 7 Year Itch
9. Evil One
10. It's Not Love
11. Need The Nite
12. It Ain't Easy
Label: Metal Heaven
Artist's websites: Nasty Idols , MySpace
