With cowboy hats askew, corny horned-devil hand signs aloft and tongue wedged firmly in cheek, the Supersuckers are back to dirty up the streets.
Last year's pheonomenal second album by the band, La Mano Carnuda saw them honing their speedy punk'n'roll to 28 minutes of dynamite that put them right up there with the mighty Rocket From The Crypt in the fucked-up rock'n'roll stakes. But the new Sacrilicious sound of the Supersuckers is, well...a little ordinary.
"Bad Bad Bad" kicks open the starting gates in an infectious, riotous rock'n'roll style, wiping the floor with the likes of Green Day's skinny asses. "19th Most Powerful Woman in Rock" is equal parts Chuck Berry and Motorhead (ie., immense!). And "Money Into Sin" is AC/DC touched by the hand of the Ramones. But elsewhere, Sacrilicious sees the 'Suckers take their foot of the gas leaving the infectious melodies without the adrenalin rush and a handful of too-obvious choruses. On this outing the Supersuckers sound like a bar band, where before they sounded like a bar fight.
The worst offenders are "Bad Dog" which drags its tail lethargically (hey puns? I got 'em!) and the ill-advised moment where new guitarist and punk veteran, Rick Sims, takes over on vocals on "Run Like a Motherfucker" and succeeds in making them sound like yesteryear glam boys LA Guns. Oh dear.
But the day is saved by the boys expanding their sound on the last two songs, with "My Victim" the big show-stopper complete with Vegas horns, and the slow gospel-tinged blues of "Don't Go Blue" seeing the Supersuckers sprint the final straight.
An average album by a superb band. You can do without this, but go out and buy La Mano Carnuda and a gig-ticket right NOW!
