Butch Walker was the guitarist in the early 90’s hair metal band Southgang (who released an underated classic in ‘Tainted Angel’). This album is very different from those Southgang days, with the nearest comparison being the Wildhearts ie the album is full of punk/pop classics! ‘Rock Vocal Power’ starts the CD on a light note with a spoken word satire on tapes that help you improve your singing! Funny on a few plays but it tires very quickly. ‘My Way’ is a upbeat pop rocker a tune the Wildhearts could pull off with ease! ‘Suburbia’ highlights Butch’s dark lyrics as the song looks at the weird things that happen in ordinary suburbia. A great hook - he really is a top songwriter and melody always comes first with every tune. Modern loops accompany ‘Trouble’, another fine punk pop song.

‘Alicia Amnesia’ is a glorious tune - harmony vocals, crunching guitar - sheer bliss. Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx appears on ‘Into the Black’, a throwback to the Southgang days. There really is not a bad tune own this CD - ‘If’ and ‘Get Down’ are a further two examples of catchy tunes with a hard edge. A great album, Wildhearts fans will love this and so will anyone who likes strong melodies with crunching riffs.

http://www.butchwalker.com

*****

Review by Jason Ritchie

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly