Black Bombers - "Vive La Révolution" (Easy Action EARS177 CD, 2024)

 It was with a mix of shocked surprise and utter disbelief that, earlier this year, I reacted to the sudden news of the Black Bombers' break-up.

Since 2014, this gang of seasoned RnR veterans had wowed the British music scene (and beyond, as their echo would be felt as far as places like Australia and the US of A) with incendiary live performances and an always original, markedly individual stream of record releases which quickly estabilished them as genuine Brummie RnR institutions.
We had the Bombers, they were OUR band, our boys and now, out of the blue, we had to carry on without their music, no more of their high-voltage shows at the Hare & Hounds or intriguing vinyl outings (always, without fail, wrapped up in those unmistakable Dave Twist cover arts which, alone, were worth the price of admission).
Speaking of which, this unexpected departure was rendered even more so puzzling by the fresh release of the band's new long-player, the long awaited "Vive La Révolution", which we're about to discuss here shortly.
A departure of sort from the get-go, "VLR" was recorded in London at the Space Eko studio with producer Alex MacGowan (of Jim Jones & the Righteous Mind fame) at the helm, in stark contrast to the band's previous output which was all self-recorded and produced, as well as emanating from, the hallowed grounds of their own rehearsal space in Birmingham.
The lads had gone to the Big Smoke for this one and, since a few years, even added a Londoner to their ranks in the person of the enigmatic "Soho" Steve Crittall, a storied, pyrotechnic axe-man who had plied his trade in such illustrious acts as the Godfathers and UK Subs amidst a ton of others.
"Soho" Steve's addition to the time-tested trio of singer/guitarist/wordsmith Alan Byron, bass thumper Darren "Ray" Birch (formerly of the Godfathers, Walter Lure's UK touring Waldos, Brian James' band and, perhaps first and foremost, the seminal and god-like Gunfire Dance) and Brummie living legend, drummer extraordinary Dave Twist, a lifelong presence on the Birmingham music scene both as a musician (with the likes of his friend and mentor, the late great Dave Kusworth's TV Eye, Tenderhooks and Dave Kusworth Group as well as a plethora of other seminal outfits such as Dada, the Prefects and the Filipinos) graphic designer of distinctive style, class and vision, not to mention avid gig-goer and record collector since the early 70s (Twisty's personal vault of vinyl rarities and assorted RnR memorabilia is by far the most jaw-dropping I've ever seen) contributed a seismic shift in the economy of the Bombers' sound, adding a marked thrust forward and robust, new layers of guitar-work for Byron to interweave with.
Live onstage, as I said, this version of the Bombers was a bonafide RnR monster and one would leave each of their gigs with that rare, distinct feeling of having witnessed something unique and momentous.
The Black Bombers were our Stooges, our MC5, our Blue Cheer.
Let the Revolution begin : how does the "new" Bombers full-lenght first outing stack up to their now legendary back-catalogue?
Well let me say, first and foremost, that this is indeed a revolution as it sounds remarkably different from anything the band has done in the past.
Sure, the trademark BB style and sonic ID remains, that noxious blend of Garage, Detroit (as well as British) proto (post, too) Punk and subtle dark/wave leanings we've all come to know and love, the major change here is the direction and production of the entire piece of work.
From the get-go, the feeling of crashing face-first, no seat-belt, 100 mph against a solid wall of guitars is tangible : this perhaps detracts just a wee bit from those "light-and-shade" touches that distinguished the first LP though certainly adds some major RnR muscle (steroids?) to the mix and then some more!
Opening salvo " No Pity" is, as the title suggests, a fierce call-to-arms :

"Don't rest on your laurels, don't sit on the fence
Take a walk in greener pastures, if there are any left
Watch yourself as you step through the dirty water
They'll show no sympathy.... No quarter"

Alan's angry snarl tells it like someone who knows what they're talking about and the message leaves very little room for doubt.
Neither does the rousing crescendo of bass and drums : these aren't times for compromise and what we're listening to is the soundtrack for a dark age.
Brooding mid-tempo "Everything Is Ruined" keeps up the bitter vibe, a story of cold resentment and break-up sounding very much, due to its, clever, swinging arrangement, like a lost soul's serenade on the borderline to Hades.
Highlight "Pretty Boy" frantically ups the ante with boiling guitar work while darting out anger at the "beautiful" people whilst, if such a thing as a cross-pollination between the New York Dolls and the Sonic's Rendez Vous Band was ever at all possible, what we hear on "Loose Lips" sounds like a damn near approximation.
"Last Bite" had previously seen life two years ago as the A-side of a limited edition 7" single release (in a leaner, more balanced and arguably, slightly superior version, I must opine) its post-punk, dark/wave vibes lamenting the sorry state of a bleeding nation in utter sociopolitical turmoil, more effectively so than most carreer political observers could do.
Alan Byron's lyrics are at their very best here and his work has to rank as some of the very finest in RnR today.

"We got ourselves out, but we let ourselves down
Our pride as a nation in the hands of a clown"

He truly is masterful in unveiling painful truths, saying a little but saying it very well with the world-weary resignation of someone who's been through a lot yet forges ahead, aware that the worst might indeed be yet to come.
One of the high points of the album for me is "Good Times Gone", a fast-and-furious garagey romp hitting with its beautifully melodic, punchy chorus ("Give me something I can believe In! Something real, something good. Anything real that is good").
Anthemic mid-tempo "What Do You See", punctuated with razor-sharp guitar licks, almost brings to mind the Lords Of The New Church at their most gloomy, plaintively musing on the changing times before reaching its conclusion in a spectacular, almost psychedelic "writing-on-the-wall" ending.

"Newspapers are a joke
Tunnel vision, television
Funded by the wealthy for all their scum
And morons who read it, who would believe it"

Throughout I sense a distinct late '70s/early 80s Aussie RnR feel echoing Radio Birdman, the New Christs and Died Pretty, a black, incandescent maelstrom of guitar layers pierced through by Byron's (Rob) Younger-esque, sandpaper howl as the well squared-out, metronomic rhythm section keeps the trembling walls from bursting out for good.
Galloping towards the end of the hell-ride, "The Price" is a frantic train rattling along with an ominous call-and response ("Let the bodies pile high"!!) while the tortured guitar cavalcade of "Sometimes" (its original incarnation appeared on the Bombers' 2018 "Vol.4" 10" mini-LP) compounds the general "end-of-the-world" feel with its metallic break conveying a strong sense of impending doom.

"Sometimes I feel like death warmed-up, other times worse"

In keeping up with a storied Black Bombers' tradition for skillfully reworking other artists' classic material, Bowie/Eno's 1979's "Boys Keep Swinging" wraps up the show adding heavy punch and girth to the original's funky, blue-eyed soul strut : this is exactly how the idea of a "cover version" should be approached, in equal parts making the song your own whilst paying homage to its content's spirit and heart.
This album is nothing but phenomenal and arresting, easily one of the strongest releases this year, something that further brings home the inevitable regret that it stands as this formidable, one-in-a-million band's last goodbye.
And what a way to go out with a wall-shattering bang it is!
As hinted at the beginning, the all-out guitar barrage often tethers on the brink of overwhelming and yes, the original, three-piece line-up did have more empty spaces around to play with, though this is brought along in a way that, if monolithic, is always well thought of and crafted, never one-dimensional.
It is to be hoped that this work's somber reflection on current affairs will serve as a stimulus for the listener to think with their ears and act on their feet, rock out relentlessly but always keep their collective eye on the ball.
Even the record collector in all of us is rewarded beautifully with a Dave Twist package design that once and for all excels itself : a poster that folds into a 7"-format square depicting an ominus "Halifax Gillett" (or, more aptly here, French Revolution-era Guillotine) overlooking a pitch-black night sky and housing the lyrics as well as the CD and a round sticker bearing the title's slogan which I'm far too nerdy and anal to actually peel out and plaster sonewhere.
A true gift from the Gods of RnR is, "Vive La Révolution".
Thank you, Black Bombers and see you again somewhere along the road : the fire still burns, under the ashes.