Released 2022 on Sick Taste Records Reviewed by Kate 14th April 2023
Buy the album on limited edition tape cassette here: https://sicktasterecords.bigcartel.com/.../the-lunatics...
The Lunatics are:
Elias - vocals Stevo - guitar Chris - guitar Mad Mark - bass Dennis- drums
For nearly two decades the Lunatics have been entertaining the people of Cologne with their particular brand of music which can’t quite be pigeonholed into a genre. There might be a punk song, followed by a country song, followed by…who knows what else! With songs drawn from the everyday and finding humour in the mundane, the Lunatics switch effortlessly between English and German with no compromise in their versatile and adaptable rockin’ style.
Aint Got No Cigarettes - The struggle is real, people, and the Lunatics know that feeling when you’re ‘getting nervous, and the drug store is already closed’. This would be a novelty song if it wasn’t stuffed full of hot blues guitar and slap bass breakdowns on the more tense sections of our desperate smoker’s struggle, and the irreverence just reminds us that daily life is full of drama and rockin’ guitar.
Lonely Summer - Angry, fast paced and full of annoyance at becoming newly single, the rhythm section and sixties vibes are the kings here. The surfing guitar touches add an extra dimension to the summertime sadness.
Autumn Rain - My favourite song on the album. It’s just really good dark country with those little outlaw shimmers on the guitar echoes and that steady upright bass trot, and the retro harmonies on the backing vocals are really effective. I would happily listen to a whole album made of variations on this song, but that’s not what the Lunatics are all about.
Gun Me Down -…and now they’re channelling ‘Boys Of Summer’ on an Offspring-alike track about rejection and those moments where you just want to face-palm. It’s short and sweet and punky.
The Thing You Have Become - A song about being disappointed in who your friends have become now they’re ‘grown up’, and the Lunatics’ honesty and ability to distill universal experiences into song is their winning feature. The quieter points of only voice over rhythm guitar are magic.
Emo Kid - Sadly, the lyrics to this one in German, but I’ve picked up enough of the language to know that this song is not complimentary to our My Chemical Romance-loving pals. It’s a sing-along special, a really bouncy number with strong classic rock guitar.
Nothing - And now, for a sad one. It’s a schmalzy ballad with an aura of cowboy regret and sadness weeping through the strings of a spanish guitar.
I Had A Gun 2022 - Another big favourite. Sixties James Bond amnesia shakes the trees of the protagonist’s memory and the rhythm section keeps it all from floating away.
I’ll Throw You Catch - Smooth and vintage, this is a lovely innocent tune that wouldn’t sound out of place on The Rev’s last album.
Jetboy - A TV theme tune for a The Boys - style show about a psychobilly anti hero that has yet to be written. Cute, dreamy, unexpected and lovely. Bleeding Heart - More heartbreak country, which they do so very well. Sped up to twice the pace that guitar work would be an amazing rock n roll moment and the subtleties of the rhythm section only highlight the loneliness further.
Rock n Roll Muss Laut Sein (Rock n Roll must be loud) - The big finish, and what a finish is! Hard rockin, wrecking fuel with a simple message and a roar on the chorus and buck shot percussion over jet powered guitar.
The Lunatics really do bring everything together under a unifying umbrella of their particular flavour of Rock n Roll, and they’ll have a song for your favourite genre, whatever it is. They’re an exciting and honest band, and with rumours of something special planned for their anniversary in 2024, they are a band to save to your playlist as soon as possible.
YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/9PxgyIQamsY
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