Yes, the Dwarves are back, and – according to the opening
track of their new album – Are Still The Best Band
Ever. Well, that might be debatable, but you can’t
argue against this eighteen track collection of short (the longest
track is 2.29), fast and furious punk rock tunes that celebrate
sex, violence, drinking and depravity.
There are top rate foot stompers here, like You’ll
Never Take Us Alive and Looking Out for Number
One, and while the band don’t push the boat out
very far musically, there’s a solid enough mix of styles
– I Masturbate Me has a Stooges vibe, with
a blistering mid section straddled by a slower, funkier groove.
Candy Now also oozes sleaze with a stoner beat,
while Do The HeWhoCannotBeNamed is a catchy,
almost glam rock pleaser, and Your Girl’s Mom
almost wanders into AC/DC territory.
Of
course, lyrically, it's crude and rude. Songs like It’s
a Wonderful Life of Sin revel in their sordidness, while
Happy Birthday Suicide is a controversy-baiting
celebration of the right to end your own life. Fake ID
is a police siren-backed, instantly dubious tale of ‘jailbait’,
while FUTYD simply demands you ‘fuck
until you die’. Working Class Hole
is a story about having a crap job and living for the weekend,
and album closer The Band That Wouldn’t Die
mixes a Zappa-like sound with a self-referential cry of defiance
- apt for a band that have been going for over quaretr of a century.
On the whole, this is crude, rude and thoroughly entertaining
stuff from a band who have grown old disgracefully, and continue
to be a thorn in the side of the easily upset. If you hate juvenile
humour, you probably won’t care much for this, but Dwarves
fans will be glad to know that the band are still live and kicking,
and still on good form.
Of
course, lyrically, it's crude and rude. Songs like It’s
a Wonderful Life of Sin revel in their sordidness, while
Happy Birthday Suicide is a controversy-baiting
celebration of the right to end your own life. Fake ID
is a police siren-backed, instantly dubious tale of ‘jailbait’,
while FUTYD simply demands you ‘fuck
until you die’. Working Class Hole
is a story about having a crap job and living for the weekend,
and album closer The Band That Wouldn’t Die
mixes a Zappa-like sound with a self-referential cry of defiance
- apt for a band that have been going for over quaretr of a century.
