The other day, an album arrived at MV towers (ok, my inbox, but it always sounded cool when Kerrang wrote that in the 80s!). Nothing unusual there, we got hundreds a day. The trouble is this one had a press release that said: “Fist raising hell yeahs, fans of Supersuckers, Hellacopters, Wildhearts, Hangmen, Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs and Gotohells, F’n A Right unite!! The Cornfed Project deliver a heavy dose of guitar-driven, hook, line, and sinker arena-sized anthems to sink your ears into, go ahead and crank it on up!!”
Come on, I’m not made of stone. Those first three. One’s my favorite band for Christ’s sake. So yeah, I am getting Cornfed quicker than the trailer trash on My Name Is Earl.
But here’s the thing. This record came out in 2015. No matter if it passed you by, it did me too. It shouldn’t have. But it did.
So let’s make up for it with the re-release, yeah?
Basically, it’s filthy. It’s greasier than a three-day KFC bucket. And that’s just the opening of “Long Time Ago.”
You’ll love TCP if you love rock and/or roll. They play it loud, they play it nasty, they look like a gang. “Southbound” is your proof. That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
They are men of mystery (probably on the run, I hope). Google searches reveal only that they are from Fullerton, CA (they ain’t straight out of Compton, they’re straight out the trailer, to quote Kid Rock).
None of that matters, though, as long as “Goat” (it’s about cars, or something) and the even better “Milwaukee” exist, and you’ll be too busy proclaiming TCP to be your favorite new band to give a damn.
“Dirty Habits” sounds exactly as it should. Stomping about glam style, and it’s all over her dress. Quite. “Date Night” (one assumes not with the same girl, who knows) is built on a groove that bass was made for, and if they have her number, can I have it? To be sensible about this for a minute, it’s a record that exists for riffs and riffs alone. “Out Of Town” is sort of Clutch, with the handbrake off if you will. “I Don’t Care” does punk if punk was on the backroads, and “Wind Her Up” has more lip curl than Billy Idol in that Workday advert, but strip it all away, and it’s a riffs record for playing loud. Very loud. “Who I Am” does boogie, and reprises the vibe of “Live!? Like A Suicide” era Guns N Roses, and it wants to fight you on “Chinatown.”
And for that reason, maybe that’s why it’s best we don’t know much about them. Nice boys don’t play rock n roll, after all. Best just to glory in this. It’s brilliant. Don’t pretend you bought it in 2015. Just get it now.
Rating: 9/10
