THE EROTICS – Let’s Kill Rock ‘N Roll (2020)

A new album of New Yorkers THE EROTICS is always welcome, doubly so in times like these when music is one of our great comforts despite not being able to catch it live. So what could be better than an album of all new material recorded live in the studio with an audience of fans and friends? Great concept eh? And they got in just in the nick of time. So here it is – released, today, “Let’s Kill Rock ‘N Roll” delivers a kickin’ dose of 14 new tracks of sleazy R n’ R and classic rock.

This latest effort found Mike Trash, Johnny Riott, Doug Renolds, and Tony Culligan working hard on getting the new songs ready for the studio. Being the rule-breakers they are, they decided to invite some of the band’s most loyal fans to Don Fury Studio to be part, and witness the recording of all 14 tracks performed live in the studio.

Kicking off with the chugging riff to ‘Nothing to Sing About’ the song opens up some cool guitar that is presumably the instrumental warm-up for the the hard and fast title trackh ‘Let’s Kill Rock ‘N Roll’, a good old sleazy rocker that is distinctly retro and sports a bit of slide for good measure.

After that short and effective rockers keep on coming: ‘Lie My Way Into Hell’ keeps that ‘riff based rocker’ thought and has a wry lyric that Trash is so good at, and a trademark sing along chorus; whilst ‘Monday Morning Meltdown’ brings a darker mood with a killer groove, before ‘Head of the Low Class’ threatens to steal the show – it’s another of Mike’s great lyrical turns and one of my real highlights with a great performance by the rhythm section and a riff that is almost hypnotic.

With the studio full of cheers, and sweaty applause “You’re History” come in next full bore, and the grooves flowing from the guitars have a punch in the gut vibe. The bluesy undertone of the guitar riffs in “You’re History” are simply awesome.
Skidding into the next track is “Scare Myself To Death”. Introspective to say the least about this song, or maybe the voices in your head? Great song regardless of what you read into it! Follow that up with “All Ripped Up” and you’re ready for the showers.

The strongest song on the album for me has to be the 80s sounding ‘The Wrong Kind of Love Song’. A definite future single that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Michael Monroe album.
Deeper still into the set ‘Sweet Cyanide Kisses’ almost reminds me of The Dogs D’Amour and slips down nicely. And we close with four more punchy numbers – ‘Up To No Good’ gets all down and dirty with a little Alice Cooper feel. ‘When You Fly Away’ is a slower but powerful song that changes the dynamics and it’s another highlight at first listen.
“Snakes In The Grass” starts off with a bass riff, and then the slamming guitars and drums kick in throwing you to the masses in the pit. A crowd mover for sure. To finish up this album is “Fighting Like Cats and Dogs” sounding like an encore it’s got racing beats and high energy and a Priest feel to the chorus.

Let’s Kill Rock and Roll is the complete opposite of what this album does. If anything, this album is a defibrillator to the music industry. The Erotics have been harnessing their own sound for 2 decades now, and have done it with their own rules, style, and attitude. That’s what is missing these days from a lot of music… the attitude!
That’s what this album is: attitude, and straight in your face. If you want to hear something fresh, then this is it.
Highly Recommended

 

01 – Nothing to Sing About
02 – Let’s Kill Rock n Roll
03 – Lie My Wy into Hell
04 – Monday Morning Meltdown
05 – Head of the Low Class
06 – You’re History
07 – Scare Myself to Death
08 – All Ripped Up
09 – Wrong Kind of Love Song
10 – Sweet Cyanide Kisses
11 – Up to No Good
12 – When You Fly Away
13 – Snake in the Grass
14 – Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

Mike Trash – vocals, guitar
Johnny Riott – drums, percussion
Doug Renolds – guitar, backing vocals
Tony Culligan – bass

 

BUY IT
theerotics1.bandcamp.com/album/lets-kill-rock-n-roll