Damn Vandals
Rocket out of London
Sexy Beast
2014
Damn Vandals is a hard rock ‘n’ roll band from the UK that first surfaced in 2012 when their debut album, “Done For Desire”, was released. An absolutely noteworthy record, which showed the world that they’ve got something to say. "Rocket out of London” is the more mature and complete follow-up to that record.
Damn Vandals have embraced the stoner/heavy rock vibe and the musical complexity of a band like Queens of the Stone Age and combined it with the fuzzy, punk-ish mentality of someone like Iggy and the Stooges. In other words, what we have here is a fun record that most rock fans can easily enjoy.
The band made the choice to follow the golden rule which dictates “always leave the audience wanting more”. With the exceptions of “I Bring You Love” and “I Hate School”, none of the other tracks exceeds two and a half minutes of running time. This makes for a tight listening experience, but since the album only consists of 10 songs (with a total running time of around half an hour), I couldn’t help feeling a little short-changed. I know I shouldn’t have (after all great historic bands like the Ramones had been releasing 30-minute records for years), but I did.
The only thing this record lacks is a slow jam or a ballad. I would have loved to hear what this highly capable band could have done in a slower tempo.
Personal favourites: “Twist Up and Tangle”, “Too Lazy to Die Too Stoned to Live”, “Number One Fan”, “This Music Blows My Tiny Mind” and of course “Rocket Over London”.
Damn Vandals have embraced the stoner/heavy rock vibe and the musical complexity of a band like Queens of the Stone Age and combined it with the fuzzy, punk-ish mentality of someone like Iggy and the Stooges. In other words, what we have here is a fun record that most rock fans can easily enjoy.
The band made the choice to follow the golden rule which dictates “always leave the audience wanting more”. With the exceptions of “I Bring You Love” and “I Hate School”, none of the other tracks exceeds two and a half minutes of running time. This makes for a tight listening experience, but since the album only consists of 10 songs (with a total running time of around half an hour), I couldn’t help feeling a little short-changed. I know I shouldn’t have (after all great historic bands like the Ramones had been releasing 30-minute records for years), but I did.
The only thing this record lacks is a slow jam or a ballad. I would have loved to hear what this highly capable band could have done in a slower tempo.
Personal favourites: “Twist Up and Tangle”, “Too Lazy to Die Too Stoned to Live”, “Number One Fan”, “This Music Blows My Tiny Mind” and of course “Rocket Over London”.