Thee Vicars - Back On The Streets

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Customer reviews
Press release

5...according to our Brian on Thu 06 Nov, 2008.

Thee Vicars are the latest in a long line of fabulous scratchy garage rock bands to emerge from this mild Isle. Being a quiet fan of that Medway Magician Childish, I can't help but love this feisty, sartorially appealing 4 piece. Their loose, distorted brand of trebly, vitriolic rock is just the ticket this morning and comes this time in the form of an album, a big fat 12" disc stacked with 16 tracks of frenetic scratchy guitar, mad discordant blues, tin pot drums & muffled distorted vocals. The veer into punk territory sometimes, like on one track that reminds young pint spilling mosher Ant of Peter & the Test Tube Babies but largely it's like an incredibly worthy Headcoats tribute with hints of fabulous US bands like Coachwhips. This is the kind of music that makes my head buzz and my feet itch, full of raw soul & broken amp dreams. The songs scream out of your speakers in a slew of buzzsaw adrenaline, making the hairs on my spine stand up. Love 'Back on the Streets', it sounds totally vital.

Formed just over a year ago, these four teenagers started Thee Vicars mainly due to the fact they were sick to death the typical, boring, run-of-the-mill indie bands around their area playing the same kind of music as everyone else. They believe that life is too short for boring music. They have self-belief and faith in what they are doing, they believe that the saviours of rock’n’roll have been born. They want to save souls! Yes, they want to stomp on all the evil music they hear week in, week out in their small little town. They say they are “ready to, if it comes to it, to kick kung fu style all the shit bands into orbit! They will set the bullshit bands’ hair straighteners on fire. . .make them melt, and their hair go curly! Make them go out and buy a belt for their jeans! So they sit at the right height! Not with their arses hanging out! So kids, do you wanna be the problem? Or do you wanna be the solution?” Already they are coming on stage in their home town of Bury St Edmunds to Beatlemania type screams from local teenage girls. The band’s manic energy is palpable, they hit you with a jolt, almost like receiving an electric shock. But then one would hope that would be the case if you were still aged aged just 17 and playing raw rock’n’roll that is shot through with a punk and garage band aesthetic, whilst visually resembling The Jam in 1978 (but a whole lot better looking). The group has a full schedule of gigs coming up and have been invited to play at several highprofile European festivals including Primitive in Rotterdam and the Funtastic Dracula Carnival in Valencia. This is the year that you can’t help but take note of Thee Vicars!

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