Unless you’re one of the infamous 1%, you might be forgiven for recently spending a bit of time searching for a booster to reinvigorate your mojo before a seriously difficult winter kicks in. Well, assuming that your electricity supply hasn’t already been cut off by profiteering greed heads, the Bobby Lees’ new album might just do the trick.
There’s nothing like raucous and fiery rock’n’roll to replenish your soul and the Bobby Lees have enough of that for it to be prescribed by the NHS. In fact, kicking off with its raucous title track indicates just how Bellevue is going to go and it’s certainly a wild ride, full of adrenaline, snarkiness and a general keenness to get lost in the moment.
“Hollywood Junkyard” is a sneering takedown of celebrity where “they sell you one piece at a time”; “Dig Your Hips” is a gutsy, mosh pit-friendly tsunami of sound; while “Ma Likes a Drink” is a screaming rocket attack of fury. Bellevue is no single speed beast though, and the sinister fever dream of “Strange Days” and the slightly demented “Little Table” both take their foot off the accelerator somewhat – however temporarily. Nevertheless, it is likely to be tunes such as the howling “Greta Van Fake”, with its venomous refrain of “You think you’re rock’n’roll / But you’re a joke / You’re a wanna be”, and the raw and intense “Monkey Mind”, a tale of when the inner voices aren’t so positive, that will prick up the ears of newcomers to the Bobby Lees’ sound – never mind the giddy declaration of intent in the cover of the Waterboys’ “Be My Enemy”.
“I’m going to be a star – That’s what they said” wails Sam Quartin on “Hollywood Junkyard”. Unfortunately, she’s going to have to write songs that are far more mediocre than these if that’s her goal. These tunes are way too good to achieve something so soulless.
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