Supersuckers. Look, some things are just true and this quote from the Lemmy one is about it: “If you don’t like Supersuckers, you don’t like rock ‘n’ roll.” So if the name up there means shit all to you go off an get yourself one a them there ‘edyacayshuns’ an’ listen to ‘Sacrilicious Sounds’ or ‘Evil Powers Of Rock ‘N’ Roll’ and then we’ll talk some.
Supersuckers. I came a bit late to their party but, shit, it was an entrance. Laughing my ass off at the goddamned happiest Satanic country punk rock ‘n’ roll song ever (‘Born With A Tail’). They’ve written songs with rolling rock lyrics that clatter and twist brilliantly about; neutered cats (‘Ozzy’), wrestling (‘Dead Meat ‘) and two of the greatest rough ‘n’ romantic songs ever (‘Stuff and Nonsense’, ‘Sleepy Vampire ‘) and rhymed Satan with Mistaking (try it). In short, Eddie Spaghetti and his cohorts are kind of genius. Drunk an’ stoned off their asses, losing barroom brawls, gone bowling genius but genius nonetheless.
Mind you they’ve also dropped a couple of clunkers in their nine studio album careers, but we forgive ’em ‘cos like a drunk falling off a wall they just get on back up.
So what is ‘Get The Hell’?
We’ll it don’t hang about. The title track is just big, catchy Supersuckers riffing at its very best; all punk rock crash and rattlesnake winding lead breaks that crackles more than a fetishist in a nylon factory. “When you’re staring down the mouth of this unruly beast, you might crap your pants or wet ’em at the very least… ” snaps Eddie in his dry but deceptively tuneful drawl. Ah, it’s a joyful thing. Music this fucking fun doesn’t even need a beer to lift your mood (but it’d be crime not to have a bottle in your hand too, y’know). Country, punk, metal and rock ‘n’ roll just get tossed in, swirled around, shaken and tossed out off the ragged cuff and all ridiculously, beautifully formed. ‘Something About You’ just proves that they couldn’t write a song without deep, delicious hooks even if their beer tab depended on it and ‘Fuck Up’ brings bottom of the glass, blues harp honesty in a slower nicotine drag. And with the tambourine rattling ‘High Tonight ‘ they hit that gorgeous Supersuckers bittersweet, weirdly chemically dependant romantic streak. And that’s four out of thirteen.
Y’see the thing is that for all their drunken antics, their songs have a huge heart and a soul that can both enjoy the self-destruction while still seeing it for what it is. With their talent for real barroom-and-bowling-alley poetry, one foot on the stage monitor and one in the trailer park, they are still head and shoulders above most of the bands of their ilk and ‘Get The Hell’ is a fine, fine platform. A couple of surprises lurk here too in covers: ‘Never Let Me Down Again ‘ is a weird Supersuckered Depeche Mode song that a) you would never guess if you didn’t know it and b) just works.
Maybe they could have dropped a couple of tracks as albums like this really need to be as short as possible: Rock On and one of ‘Being Bad’ ‘Shut It’ or ‘Disaster Bastard’ could have been shed. For length, not quality you understand. All three rock as viciously, catchy and noisily as the rest.
End result? It’s a good ‘un by their standards. So that means sell your granny time, you need it in your rock ‘n’ roll soul sonny. Grab a beer, grab a partner and get the fuck on the dancefloor, Supersuckers are back. Hell yeah!!
(8.5/10 Gizmo)
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