Album Review - Loud George - Loud George

 

OK, I swear I don’t plan these, sometimes things come into my inbox and I feel the need to write about them. Recently, I came across the UK-based garage rock band, Loud George and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. It’s been a while since I’ve dipped my toes into the DIY-filled world of underground garage rock. Of course, there are always bands that self-produce their music, but I’m talking about something entirely different. I’m talking about that raw, unfiltered power of just some friends that crash their instruments and shape the sound into a wall of sonic energy. That’s what I get from this album. The latest self-titled effort from Loud George hits with the weight of a thousand amplifiers. The influence of bands like Dead Boys, The Meat Puppets and Butthole Surfers lives on in bands like this.

This album is best described as controlled and chaotic. On first listen you might feel that it’s just erratic for the sake of being loud. However, on repeat listens you find a particular method to the madness. Each song being this frantic and hectic energy that keeps the listener engrossed. All while spouting lyrical poetry. I would say this is a fun record to just throw on while working out and also while sitting doing nothing. It has the mania to keep that high energy going for me, yet when I took a step back to listen to their lyrics or the way they construct the songs I got that same feeling I got when I listened to Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash by The Replacements. The feeling of “Wow, this is really interesting in how simple it actually is”.

This album will not be to everyone’s taste. If you’re looking for something clear and polished with a defined tone and catchy hooks, then this is not for you. If you’re looking for something brutally heavy like thrash metal or punk rock. Then I would still say you’re looking in the wrong place. This is unapologetically raw. Like to the point where I could potentially label it as noise-rock. It’s definitely in the grunge category but not that big budget and studio grunge. It’s grunge that has an almost naked sound to it. It’s really good if you like that sort of thing but I get that that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

There are some quite interesting production choices that I admire here and there. On the song “Lobotomy”, there’s this vocal distortion effect that feels very Gibby Haynes-esk. It’s just something that can make the listener feel pretty uncomfortable and adds to the theme of the song's title, everything is distorted and weird. “The Last Will and Testament of Mr G” is a creative song that flexes the band's control of subdued writing and more high-energy heavy blues. It feels very early Black Sabbath-esk. Which was a cool surprise to find in this record. I think the comparison to Ozzy works quite well here. Whilst not heavy metal, you can definitely hear his influence here.

This is a decent example of garage rock done well. Loud George has done quite well with this effort. There’s a lot to like here. The songs are solid and the production is just the right amount of rough and raw. The album as a whole is a fun listening experience, the energy is enough to motivate you to move but the lyrical themes and production choices are enough to make you sit and think. If you’re in the market for something new that feels like it was made in the early 90s then I will direct you to this record.  

CHECK OUT LOUD GEORGE

BANDCAMP

SPOTIFY

YOUTUBE

FACEBOOK