I FELL IN LOVE WITH A SWEET SENSATION...

So. As i'd said in a previous post, a few bands towards the end of 2001 opened the floodgates for a tidal wave of vibrant and exciting new rock bands, influenced by late 60's garage rock, punk, post-punk and indie. And fuck me, did it feel good to hear them! Although there had always been a handful of records that i liked most years, this was the first time that i felt part of something new and important, and it set the tone for the next few years. And it also set me on a path to discovering some more of the older music that had influenced the current crop. There was a slew of great singles this year, but it was more about the album for me. I listened to The Strokes' Is This It again recently, for the first time in years, and it took me right back to a time when the airwaves, music tv channels, and music press were full of these new bands week after week. One band, whose dark and moody look and sound caught my attention, had actually released their first album in spring 2001, but had slipped by me until one Sunday when, listening to the Top 40, their new single was a entry at 37. The song was "Love Burns", and the band were Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. With a rock'n'roll rebel name (taken from The Wild One movie) and image, and a sound that took influences from Zeppelin, Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr, they looked like outsiders who'd lived a bit! I bought the single the next day, followed quickly by the self-titled debut album. A mix of slow-paced psychedelic rock, fuzz-toned groovers, and full on rock and roll stormers, it became part of 2002's playlist for me, my favourite tracks being the deep rock groove of "Spread Your Love", the stormy slow burning "Red Eyes And Tears", and the apocalyptic howl of "Whatever Happened My Rock 'n' Roll? (Punk Song). The dark lyrics of love, loss, redemption, and rock 'n' roll fit the wall of guitar noise, fuzzed up bass and pounding drums, over which co-vocalists Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been trade vocals. Powerful stuff.

On the other side of the world, the revival of back to basics rock hadn't gone unnoticed. From New Zealand came The Datsuns and The D4, playing old school rock and high octane garage rock respectively. The Datsuns managed to score a couple of Top 40 hits with "Harmonic Generator" and "In Love", the latter of which got them on TOTP. The D4, whilst less successful chartwise, were no less thrilling when Lammo was blasting their songs out of the radio!  

                                                                                                                                                                 

Also from down under came The Vines from Sydney, Australia. I was first made aware of them when they played their single "Highly Evolved" on Later... with Jools Holland. 90 seconds of ragged, grungey rock, it was one of those rare moments that made my neck hairs stand up. Taking their influence from early Nirvana and Mudhoney, with nods to classic sixties rock, they were soon caught up in the hype with rest of the latest "The" bands who were deemed to be the saviours of rock and roll. The Vines had also developed quite a reputation in the press for the wayward antics of their frontman Craig Nicholls and his sometimes erratic performances (this was later diagnosed as Aspergers, not helped by his diet of Mcdonalds and copious amounts of weed), but his talent as a songwriter and musician was in no doubt, proven when their debut album Highly Evolved was released that summer. It's always struck me as an album with a summery feel to it, as beyond the trio of storming singles (the title track, "Outtathaway!" and my favourite, "Get Free") there were more reflective slower tempo songs like "Country Yard" and "Homesick", psychedelic freakouts - "In The Jungle" and "1969", and the punk-ska flavoured "Factory". I was quite obsessed with this album for some time! 

                                                                                                                                                                

There were a few other albums that soundtracked that summer for me: Red Hot Chili Peppers' By The Way, most memorably the the thundering funk-rock of the title track and the glimmering sunshine pop of "Universally Speaking": Intergalactic Sonic 7"s, a singles collection by Ash, chock full of punk-pop nuggets:  and, towards the end of August, a rock masterpiece in the shape of Songs For The Deaf, by Desert Rock band Queens Of The Stone Age. I'd bought their 2000 album Rated R which, although a bit patchy in places, had me hooked on their trance-like repetitive groove rock, which had been termed "stoner rock", but this new album was on a whole different level. Assembled loosely as a concept album, it took the listener on a drive through the California desert, with the heavy guitars, hypnotic grooves, nagging melodies and pounding drums (courtesy of Dave Grohl) interspersed with  the car radio tuning into local stations, with fake DJs and idents mocking the limited and repetitive playlists of such stations. Opening with the thundering riffs and manic, screaming vocals of bassist Nick Oliveri on "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionare" before charging into the oompah rhythm rock of first single "No One Knows", the album goes through hard rock, psychedelic-influenced jams, manic freakouts, and garage rock reminiscent of The Stooges. I'll be writing a seperate post on it soon, as it has become one of my all-time favourite albums, and changed the way i thought about heavy rock.

                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                    

"No One Knows" was all over radio and tv in the latter part of the summer, but, as with all this vibrant rock and roll i fell in love with, i was yet to experience any of it live. That would soon change as Summer turned to Autumn though......