Aging punks sound ageless
Anyone who is a fan of punk rock knows its history quite well. The Ramones rose to power in the US mid-1970s, followed by The Misfits a few years later. In the UK, the movement was spearheaded by bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. Punk then faded in the 1980s, before experiencing a brief resurgence with the rise of Green Day and Blink-182 in the 1990s before molding into subgenres such as horror punk and pop punk. But despite these changes, punk musicians always paid homage to those early bands.
Sadly, almost all of the legendary bands listed above are now defunct: whether because of tensions within the band (The Clash), drug issues (The Sex Pistols) or all the members dying (The Ramones). Yet, The Damned are still going strong all these years later. After a brief breakup, they returned and took on a new gothic rock style, and now continue to play and tour (though now less frequently, due to the members’ age). It took The Damned ten years to release their new record, called Evil Spirits.
A pleasant surprise off the bat is the album’s overall energy. Despite it being forty years since The Damned released their first album, and the band members are all in their sixties, Evil Spirits contains a zealous reminiscence of the band’s early career. Lead single and opening track “Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow” comes roaring out of the gate with energetic drumming and a catchy melody. The title track, “Evil Spirits,” has a pretty darn energetic guitar solo. And the best track, “Devil In Disguise,” features a gnarly riff. On this record, Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and Co. raise a middle finger to the idea of “too old.”
Evil Spirits isn’t necessarily a kind of genre-busting marvel, but it also isn’t trying to be. The Damned is a band comfortable in their own skin, and four decades later they sound like they’re just having fun. And thanks to that, the listener will likely wind up having fun too.
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