In many ways, this is the best album yet committed to wax by American rockers Prophets of Addiction.

Pound-for-pound, front-to-back, it contains more high quality riffage in one space than the band have managed to produce thus far in their career but, in a year where the ever reliable HNE Recordings released an EIGHT CD Dogs D’Amour Box Set, the question presents itself: Do we really need any more gravel-throated troubadours in our lives?

As it goes, I’d have to say yes we do, because cracking little ditties like Slippin’ Away and the stupendous Hollywood are easily the equal of Tyla and company in their ability to raise a cracked smile and extract a salty tear from the eye. In fact I don’t remember hearing a track possessing quite as much ragged glory as Hollywood in a long, long time. Lesli Sanders pulls a remarkable performance out of his sandpapered word hole, whilst the arrangement that backs him is pure, exquisite nostalgia, distilled for maximum taste and guaranteed to send your pleasure receptors into the red if you’ve ever donned a pair of cowboy boots and a dustcoat in the name of rock n’roll…

But it has to be said that, although Hollywood is the best track on the album, it’s very much a case of it being ‘the first among equals’ because, slightly shaky Rod Stewart cover aside, there aren’t too many weak points to be detected on Face The Music. Last One In The Bar is possibly a little too Canine for comfort, but even here, armed with a bottle of something tasty in hand, you’ll find the sentiment impossible to pour too much scorn on; better yet to crack that mutha open, neck it quick and just get with the programme, right? And luckily on Face The Music, there’s a lot of material that positively demands audience participation, so you’d better make that a case rather than just one bottle…

Great stuff then, and I have to admit to just a little surprise that this band, who I believed I had the measure of, have delivered such a ripsnorter of a record at this point in their career. Congrats to all concerned!

 

It’ll be time to Face The Music on October 25th…