Monday, November 03, 2014

Meet Nasty Rumors!

Out of all the types of music I've written about over the years, my favorite by far is punk rock in the '77 style. It's hard to find a lot of bands that are doing that type of thing these days. It seems like the garage/punk and punk/powerpop scenes are thriving right now, but straight-up '77 punk is more of a rarity in the year 2014. So when I hear a band like Nasty Rumors - who sound like they could have put out a record in 1977- it makes me a damn happy camper!

Nasty Rumors hail from Bern, Switzerland. You see the band logo and expect a certain kind of sound. And that's exactly what Nasty Rumors deliver! All members are scene veterans and have logged time in bands such as The Strapones, Skaladdin, Tight Finks, The Fuckadies, Unhold, and Delilahs. But if you had told me these guys were original British punks who opened for The Clash back in the day, I would have had no reason to doubt you. The band's debut single "Rats In A Wheel" is out on No Front Teeth Records, and it's definitely got that vintage early U.K. punk sound - right down to the very Brit-sounding vocals. With its punchy guitars, fist-pumping chorus, and stick-in-your-head melody, the title track represents just about everything I love about first wave punk. And lyrically, it offers some very profound reflections on the futility of a life spent competing in the rat race. B-side "Wanna Be On Top" proves to be less philosophical and more defiant - with very clever and amusing lyrics directed at an individual who clearly needs to fuck off ("I'm not anti-everything/I'm just anti-you"). This is your classic punk rock anthem - replete with a chorus that you just have to sing along with. If you put a gun to my head and made me choose, I'd say that "Wanna Be On Top" is the hit here. I'm going to assume, however, that you've got much saner uses for your firearms. So let's just call it a tie and enjoy this fine record. Look for another single out very soon on Germany's Wanda Records!



-L.R.

http://nastyrumours.bandcamp.com/album/rats-in-a-wheel
https://www.facebook.com/nastyrumours
http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/

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