Punk Rock At The British Legion Hall

Billy strikes again. This time, Billy Childish has unleashed the debut LP of his latest band, Wild Billy Childish And The Musicians Of The British Empire. Punk Rock At The British Legion Hall takes the two songs from the debut 7" from the new band and adds 12 more new songs the fold. The MBE consist of his wife Nurse Julie on bass (and lead vocals on "Date with Doug") and Wolf Howard (his cohort from the Buffs) on drums. Now, it would be a lie to say that this album is groundbreaking, but it sure does rock. Within the last few years, Billy's songwriting has developed a much more melodic sense then he used to display. He has always been one to wear his influences on his sleeve, but recently he has been displaying a massive Who (A Quick One era especially) influence. Backing vocals, harmonies, and falsettos are appearing in songs that sound almost "pretty" (albeit in a trashed-up form). There are a few songs that fall into this category on Punk Rock... including "Birthday Boy". Don't be fooled though, because there is also a rough instro song, and plenty of the good old rocknroll that has been his bread and butter for almost 30 years.

One of my favorite songs is "Bugger The Buffs", which appeared with a different title on the "Last Of The Buff Medways" 7", which was that band's final release. It's a bare-bones rocker with an excellent rant-style vocal from Billy in a similar vain to classics of his such as "punk rock ist nicht tot", "you are all phonies", and "We Hate The Fuckin' NME". The song more or less tells the story of his career, while name dropping people like Kurt Cobain and "Jackie" White who have revered him. There's also the requisite swipe at ex-lover Tracey Emin. He's bitter that people who have been hugely influenced by him are making millions while he's still living in relative poverty. "We pick up the crumbs that fall from the tables". You got to hand it to him, he has continuously gone out of his way to remain an outsider in every aspect. I may be a bit biased, but I recommend this album for anyone reading this blog right now. And don't be surprised if you see this at or near the top of list for best albums for 2007 at the end of the year.

Here's a song: Bugger The Buffs

Buy the album from Damaged Goods Records