Loads of bands have attempted to do the sleaze thing since grunge was meant to have killed it. Few have done it better than Kickin Valentina.
“One way ticket to the danger zone,” sings D.K. Revelle on “Generation Time Bomb”, and rather than it sounding like a cliché, you want to go with him. That is the trick this lot have always understood: if you play rock ’n’ roll with enough conviction, it becomes your truth.
“Dance Of Destruction” could transport you back to the Rainbow in 1988. It celebrates drugs and rock ’n’ roll – and probably sex too while it is about it – with absolutely no interest in apologising. Then “Rock N Roll Casualty” arrives with a chorus that is dangerous as well as glorious.
The best thing about Kickin Valentina is that they are plainly enjoying this so much. Revelle, guitarist Heber Pampillon, bassist Chris Taylor and drummer Jimmy Berdine give the impression that if they weren’t playing music like this, they would be listening to it. That enthusiasm explodes from “Don’t Be Mad”, but underneath all the attitude there is some proper melody too.
“She wants to lick you off a dirty spoon,” Revelle informs us during “Silver Moon”. Best not to ask, probably. That said, it will be stuck in your head for days, which rather proves the point.
“Dog Fight” has swagger, attitude and enough heft to take on a biker gang. Pampillon has a field day throughout the record, but his solo here is absolutely perfect: flashy enough to turn heads but never at the expense of the song.
“Good Time Bad Guys” is surely autobiographical and certainly made for playing live. You can already picture the beer flying when its chorus hits. The same is true of “Overdose On Cloud 9”, a genuinely brilliant, fists-up-in-the-air romp, right down to the cowbell. Hedonistic and proudly so.
“Bulletproof Sound” reinforces what keeps you coming back to Anthems From The Underground: the sheer glee the band displays throughout. There is no irony, no distance and no suggestion that anyone involved thinks they are above any of this. They believe in loud guitars, enormous choruses and living fast because those things still matter.
“Just Like A Movie” brings it home in exactly the right fashion, completing a lean and mean collection: ten songs, no excess. Perfect.
Look, this type of rock was meant to die. It has supposedly been killed off about 100 times. Do you know why it keeps coming back? Because it is fun, because it is great and because, when it is done properly, it still sounds dangerous.
Anthems From The Underground is about as good as it gets.
Rating: 9/10
