Okay, I’m on the internet, and I know it can be unforgiving, so let me get the “elephant in the room” out of the way: Bobby Liebling has done some shite stuff in the past, and there is no denying it. Now that I’ve got that out there, I’d like to hope the chemical demons he allowed to ride him for many years are now kicked into touch, and that the rejuvenated energy he shows on this album are a taste of things to come. I will mention it no more, because to do so would be to ignore the time he’s served, the progress he’s made, and the undeniable sneering power this new act, labelled by some a “supergroup”, deserves.
Nod to online fury over, let me say I really do dislike the term “Supergroup”; it is bandied around all too often, and all too liberally. What ‘The Limit’ truly can be described as is an amalgam of musical veterans who have somehow fallen together to deliver an album simultaneously full of timeless attitude fused with veteran level ability. Fronted by Pentagram Ghoul Bobby Liebling bolstered by the bass of ex-Stooge Jimmy Recca and US punk pioneer Sonny Vincent, and lifted aloft by the rhythms of Portuguese Dawnriders Hugo Conim and Joao Pedro, this is an unapologetic album of simple, throat grabbing, ball kneeing, shin kicking, rock!
12 tracks sprint through the 37-minute length of the album, each one a lean and mean ode to rock of old. ‘Kitty Gone’ stomps and swaggers from the speakers laden with an unashamed and unabashed swagger, introducing the band and laying down their simplistic agenda of crotch thrusting rock. ‘Black Sea’ thuds out with alternating lead and gang vocals melded to a crude perfection, whilst ‘Human Vs Nature’ refuses to relax the pace with a sub three-minute sneer of attitude, the upbeat pogo of ‘These Days’ providing a surprisingly light, yet unabatedly energetic follow up.
‘Over Rover’ promises some of the doom that the band’s vocalist is so much associated with for the first few chords before the punk stomp kicks any subtlety aside with the fury of a high-laced Doc Martin boot, the thud of title track ‘Caveman Logic’ firing straight into the gut, the aforementioned Mr Liebling grabbing the mic to deliver a musical diatribe full of more energy than he’s displayed for many a year, spat lyrics held aloft by stabbing guitars and thunderous bass and drums. By the time that album highlight ‘Fleeting Thoughts’ fires forth, it’s impossible to deny the sheer enthusiasm, energy, and spite that The Limit inject into every note and riff, complete with an enviable contempt for the instant gratification of modern entertainment consumption. ‘Death of My Soul’ sounds like a sixties psyche ballad, whilst ‘Life’s Last Night’ is a dirty punk sprint that is positively sedate in comparison to the nonchalant nihilistic delivery of ‘Sir Lancelot’, whilst album closer ‘When Life Gets Scorched’ delivers a hard rock stomp worthy of a certain James Osterberg, albeit I do not want to imagine, let alone see Bobby Liebling pogoing around with his jeans around his ankles and his chap swaying in the breeze!
‘Caveman Logic’ is not an album of subtlety, and definitely not an album of new and explorative concepts. What it happens to be is an album of unabashed feeling, unapologetic hard rock, all delivered with the undeniable skill and authority of musical veterans. I would guess the chance of a tour is low, but damn me, but I’d love to see these seasoned players performing this album live!
(8/10 Spenny)
14/04/2021 at 1:16 pm
The name is “RECCA”
14/04/2021 at 1:40 pm
Apologies, have corrected!