It happens that you find something truly wonderful in a completely unexpected place. Is it possible to expect something creepy from the guys who record their favorite dog in the band and show their faces? Well, so that the soul unfolds and then collapses? Clearly, the questions are rhetorical. Ladies and gentlemen, today I present the jewel of my music library: an album called Powder Keg by the British Guana Batz.
The conspicuous bats, as their intricate name can be loosely translated, are a classic cycobilly gang that cheerfully stirred up the British eighties. Formed in 1982, they were regulars of the local Foot Club movement, one of the first clubs specializing in saik and, possibly, in confrontation with amphibians. And if we talk about the band’s early work, the guys played old-fashioned psychobilly and preferred to perform without T-shirts. It’s a special vibe when it’s hot outside and hot inside. It is their saykobilly that can be compared to our native Stressor. The line between “roko” and “saiko” is just as shadowy, but the Mice were much more reckless in terms of speed and other madness.
By the early 90s, like many billboard Britons, Guana Batz resonated with the Soviet Union, that is, they disintegrated. But in 1996 they are going to release their magnum opus again. This suggests a comparison with The Blue Cats with their Best Dawn Yet. It’s not just the overcast coolness that these records broadcast, but almost all British rock music. All the creative life of both teams, Cats and Mice, can be reduced to these comeback albums. These records are so great, and they leave such an indelible mark in music where there is a double bass.
At first glance, the theme of the album is much more hackneyed than the conquest of the sea. “Powder Keg” is dedicated to self-destructive passion, bitter unhappy love and the mental destructions that come with it. What’s the big deal? There are so many broken hearts in our favorite songs that you can train a legion of cardiac surgeons and there’s enough material for kebabs. But the main thing is in the little things. Guana Batz’s look at this topic very accurately conveys the feeling when an unhappy love affair turns your head and you rush from an ineffable cocktail of feelings, ready to explode like that powder keg.
02 Crazy Dumb Struck (Over You)
03 Saving Grace
04 Evil Eye
05 The One
06 I Feel So Blue
07 Guilty Conscience
08 Skyrunner
09 Fallen Angel
10 Time Bomb
11 Unconditional Love
12 Self Destruction
Listen online or download Guana Batz – Powder Keg (1996) (mp3, 64 Mb)
And what can you do when you’re overwhelmed with feelings? Race faster than anyone, like a cybergepard with a V8 in his chest! Speed Freak Peril is about exactly that. Swinging to a traditional rock rhythm, accompanied by the swashbuckling whistle of Pip Hancox, the vocalist of the line-up, the song takes the listener into the sunset along the highway to nowhere.
But the stop on the way is more important than the path itself. The sinister shuffle of the double bass opens the song Crazy Dumb Struck (Over You). Compounded by the hammer beat in the chorus, this song appears to be a personal zombie virus. You will have to wade under it forever, against your will. Like the lyrical hero, he also loses his head, but not because of the music.
The espionage-like, disturbing Saving Grace appears as a manifesto of obsessive passion. Giving hope in bridge, the song takes it away again, leaving us at the mercy of the predatory Secret Service of Mental Security. It is impossible to hide from her agents, and the saving grace hidden in her lover’s smile is still far away.
Evil Eve is finally letting out its breath. With her direct rhythm and the spirit of the sixties, she finally allows the lyrical hero to stop and think about his mental anguish.
So what did these reflections lead to? There’s no need! Reason does not prevail over feelings, and the lyrical hero breaks into a steep dive on his burning train. The One is not a cry, but a scream. Aggressive paranoia, shattering.
I Feel So Blue continues this mood, but the hysteria of a high-speed fall is replaced by the conscious despondency of the would-be hero-lover. But it doesn’t make the listener sad. For us listeners, it’s just a beautiful drama at the limit that pleasantly tickles the mirror neurons.
And the lyrical hero continues his torment. Guilty Conscience sounds downright apocalyptically heavy in places, perfectly conveying the feeling of remorse.
Sky Runner provides a long-awaited respite, a kind of interlude. The galloping rhythm and mystical melody evoke familiar images of Wild Hunting, from which no one can escape. But most likely it is a disturbing dream of our sufferer.
And the morning of the evening is no more complicated. Lover boy is all about the same thing! Fallen Angel retains a pinch of the previous horror, allowing you to relax on the choruses and mixing it all together with quite traditional guitar solos.
And the explosion is getting closer! Time Bomb perfectly describes the fragility of the universe. The clock is ticking fervently, bringing the inevitable closer.
Punk-like straightforward Unconditional Love draws a bold line under this whole sensual story. It’s a feeling that many people know well when they have nothing to offer but themselves. And our world is designed in such a way that this intention is always doomed to failure in advance.
Self-Destruction loops the album, once again returning our doomed Romeo to the Road leading Nowhere. This hilarious self-destructive journey is the natural outcome of everything that happened before.
Well, then. This is how art works, immersing in artistic images. I didn’t want to dissect the album for instruments at all. Everything is executed, recorded and mixed brilliantly, but this is not the main thing. This is essentially the last original album of the band, both existing and performing. But he could be the only one. This is such a complete and self-sufficient work. It’s not a common occurrence in music in general, and even more so in the niche underground genre of cycobilly. The rest of the words are superfluous here. Just listen to this record. If she gets into the right mood, she can literally help you weather mental storms. Who among us has not been this lyrical hero at least once in his life, ready to explode at any minute?
