Now this is the stuff. This is the second record from Bolton’s The Great St Louis and it’s only a shame I hadn’t heard this lot sooner. They clearly lean pretty heavily on their Social Distortion record collection – it’s the kind of punk rock that you couldn’t get away from in the 90s but has virtually disappeared off the face of the earth since then. Certainly outside of Scandanavia.
Gruff vocals, attitude and country style back vocals sit nicely over precision based song writing simplicity. Its not a million miles from being a Loved Ones record, but only if said record was being played by the Backyard Babies. Opening track Mooresy pretty much sets the tone for what you’re gonna get on the whole record – good old fashioned rock.
The production is a little suspect – some of the tunes seem to stick out a little more than others, but it’s only in keeping with Boss Tuneage’s general DIY ethic. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but this is such a solid punk record that it should keep you going while Mike Ness gets his arse into gear to write some new tunes. I hope this lot pass down my way soonish.
Mike