Kasms - Spayed

After the revelation that Sam Meringue (Outer Limits Recordings, Explorers, Matrix Metals etc) used to be a member of the notoriously dodgy Test Icicles it comes as no surprise to find other ex-members of the band rearing their head with significantly better sounding bands. In this case it's Rory Attwell who along with fellow Kasms members Rachel Mary Callaghan, Gemma Fleet and Scott R. Walker have created a wholly unpleasant death-rock style band in the vein of Vanishing but infused with a little of that 80's Gothic post-punk sound I associate with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Death In June and that sort of thing. They've got more of a kick to them than said bands but the influence is most certainly their in the production sound and the general use of instrumentation. Not sure which member of the band is singing but it's certainly the stand-out element to 'Spayed' as each track is sung with utter conviction. The music is loud garage rock influenced stuff that owes a debt to The Cramps as well as the groups previously mentioned. Both feisty and tuneful in equal measure. Out now on ultra hip London label Trouble (home to the likes of Crystal Castles, An Experiment On A Bird In the Air Pump, Koko Von Napoo), expect big things from these kids in 2011. Or ignore expectation and just enjoy the record...it's up to you lad.