THE ELVIS SUICIDE - Sweethearts CD

Glaswegian band who are a cross between The Ramones, Dundee's Dirty Wee Middens, blazing country rock and vintage good-time “rock 'n' roll” as they deliver a debut 7-tracker choc full of songs that hang around the two minute mark and are gone before you know it, but leave a lasting impression that, like The Ramones before them, endears them to your heart and makes you want to play it all again the moment it's over, just so you can leap about the room that bit more manic this time. The band not only play things with the energy and spitrit of rock 'n' roll and furious punk, but they also write some red hot songs, manage to pack so much in to a short space of time and come up winners every time. The opener, “Song For A Girl” just glows as the guitars scythe, the rhythm section rumbles underneath and the vocalist implores his lyrics with passion, even though there's a decided humour running through it all, as this kind of punk love song burns its guitar-strewn path to your heart. “Turned Your Back On Me” is a slice of vintage seventies punk with an almost Television-meets-Eater styled vocal and a hook that kills as the guitars lead and burn over the barrage of rhythm. “All I Need” is an obvious single – short, sharp and precise, pinpointing its aims with deadly accuracy as the chorus is classic 'rock 'n' roll, pure punk pop yet with a scything, hollering presence that makes it way more intense than you'd think from reading this, as the song just rampages its way through a mass of guitars, rolling rhythms and urgent vocals. “I Cannot Lie” is similar only adding a touch of almost heavy rockabilly to the arrangements as the rhythms gallop along and the vocals are taut and urgent, a chorus of sorts acting as a neat fulcrum around which the main song revolves. “Hanging On The Edge” continues in a similar vein only this one's altogether harder, faster and more furious, with urgent shouted vocals, furious swirls of guitar riffing and an explosive rhythm section, the vocals right off the scale as this furiously sung punk urgency catches fire – superb stuff. But if that was superb, the the less than two minute Ramones-meets- r'n'b fury of “Laura Was Right” is simply phenomenal. The CD ends with “I Should Have Changed For You”, as good a beer-swilling ballad as they come, its ton.gue firmly in its cheek, and ending things on a very brief but heartfelt love song. It's a pearler of a CD and one that you'll play and play – the band are great live, so get out and see them – in the meantime, lap this up and get some fire back into your life.

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