Violent Soho
Violent Soho
Ecstatic Peace! Records

Aussie flannel junkies Violent Soho are all the rage right now, a term that’s somewhat appropriate given their penchant for the turbulent teen climate of 90s alternative revelry. They’re being heralded by everyone as grunge rock’s very own Lazarus, rising from the tombs and shaking the dust off of an angst-ridden sound once left for dead, but I’m not falling for the ‘Cobain is back’ propaganda. No, what we’ve got here, if you want to know the truth of it, isn’t a grunge revival, but a whole lotta raw power, a real cock n’ roll record filled with flash and ass, even if it is hidden under all those greasy clothes. While this really isn’t the band’s full-length debut (most of the songs already appeared on their 2008 album We Don’t Belong Here), it is the one with Thurston Moore’s fingerprints all over it, so look for it to be the album that makes ‘em famous with the kids in your town.

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#36 Throttlerod – Pig Charmer

I love anything that’s mean and comes from places I wouldn’t dare venture on my own, like a biker bar in the deep south (even with my beard and denim vested-chest puffed out) or a rickety trailer in the deepest, darkest part of the trailer park (even with my beard and denim vested-chest puffed out). I like my rock n’ roll to scare me, and Throttlerod is angry enough to do just that. I won’t repeat everything I said in my recent review (which you can read here), but this is a raging return to form for the ‘Rod and I wouldn’t dare leave them off this list lest I’m walking home from work one day, get knocked out from behind, and wake up in a vat of BBQ sauce with a pitchfork held to my jugular.

Listen to “Where’s Josh?” from Pig Charmer!

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