By: Victor Van Ommen
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 10/2/2017
Label: Tee Pee Records
..if it’s a rough and tumble slab of catchy punk rock that you’re in
for, be sure to get your ass down to the train station to catch the “One
Fifteen.”
“One Fifteen” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.) One Fifteen
2.) Reptile Minds
3.) Cosmos Redshift 7
4.) Thing Within
5.) The Day the Earth Caught Fire
6.) Dark Nebula
7.) Malevolent Shroud
8.) Blind Swordsman
9.) X City
2.) Reptile Minds
3.) Cosmos Redshift 7
4.) Thing Within
5.) The Day the Earth Caught Fire
6.) Dark Nebula
7.) Malevolent Shroud
8.) Blind Swordsman
9.) X City
The Review:
Imagine what would happen if Howlin’ Wolf grew up in the 80s,
spent his time jamming The Ramones and getting fucked up on anything
that came his way. If such prospect tickles your curiosity, then by all means,
jump on board the “One Fifteen”
train, Lecherous
Gaze’s new album.
There are a number of remarkable things that Lecherous Gaze
has going for them. First off, the guitars. Man, those guitars! The main man
behind the licks goes by the name Graham Clise and he’s accompanied on second
guitar by Zach Dellorto-Blackwell. The way these two fly up and down the fret
board, switching effortlessly from frenetic riffing to frenetic soloing, makes
for one impressive axe-slinging show. Take the album’s closing cut “X
City” as an example of this. The front end is a riff-filled party
rocker that longs for the days of driving around in a Rocket 88, only to close
out with one of the best guitar solos we’re going to hear all year. Guaranteed.
As is the case with guitar rock, the songs would be
nothing without a steady rhythm section to back up the riffs. And that’s where
Chris Grande (bass) and Noel Sullivan (drums) come into play. Their get up and
get ‘em attitude saturates songs like “Reptile Minds” and the five minute
extravaganza, “Thing Within,” with a steady, head on delivery, which opens up
the playing field for Clise and Dellorto-Blackwell to dance around how they
please. The interplay between these guys is aggressive when it needs to be and
precise if that’s what the song calls for, all the while keeping just as much
sleaze as accessibility in the songs.
And then there’s the Lecherous Gaze trademark, singer
Zaryan Zaidi. A formidable front man to boot; one to be both scared of and
impressed by. Shredding his vocal chords in the process, Zaidi barks and snarls
his way through these nine cuts with both joy and frustration. Lecherous Gaze
is a punk rock band, after all, despite all that tasty, groovy riffing. So
there’s just as much room to make a statement as there is to have a damn good
time.
So if it’s a rough and tumble slab of catchy punk rock
that you’re in for, be sure to get your ass down to the train station to catch
the “One Fifteen.”
“One Fifteen” is available to
buy/preorder here
