Druglords Of The Avenues

New Drugs

Written by: PP on 14/10/2013 22:45:24

Waiting for a new Swingin' Utters album or feel like listening to punk rock that sounds like it was teleported from 1993? Look no further than the new album "New Drugs" by Druglords Of The Avenues. Despite their rather unusual name, they're not a joke band but actually are fronted by the Swingin' Utters vocalist Johnny Bonnel, and provide him -- yes -- a slightly different musical avenue to explore outside of his standard Swingin' Utters stuff.

While it is of course impossible to escape the Utters comparisons due to his charismatic vocal style, the material on "New Drugs" leans more on street punk as well as early 90s NOFX/Rancid material rather than the cleaner SU style of later years. Think "Punk In Drublic" and "White Trash, Two Heebs & A Bean" are some of the best punk albums recorded to date? Take a listen to the sloppily played "Brandy Breath" or loose punk rocker "Take Your Meds" and sing along in a whiskey-drenched voice in a drunken stupor, mirroring the experiences of the youth back then. Yes, "New Drugs" reaches very convincingly into punk rock history, offering a raw, unpolished street punk take that throws modern values like tight instrumentation and pop elements out the window for a rowdy, all-over-the-place type of punk rock expression.

And it's a good album precisely for that reason. The glitches, the sloppy, ringing guitars, the playful riffs versus the high tempo rhythm department, everything adds up to true punk rock soundscape that, despite all of the above, doesn't abandon the catchy element at all. And there are even ska/reggae type pieces included as well, such as "Don't Mind Me", which takes you straight back to Rancid/NOFX's less-serious material from their 90s output. Laid back, chilled out ska/reggae beat over the steadily raw, street punk style vocals works wonders here. So even though most songs hover around the two-and-a-half minute mark in length, variety is also present in enough quantity to make "New Drugs" an enjoyable listen throughout.

Download: Brandy Breath, Take Your Meds, Such A Bore, For My Life
For the fans of: early 90s NOFX, Rancid, Swingin' utters
Listen: Facebook

Release date 21.05.2013
Red Scare Industries

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