Ask a Slavic person: “what is a holiday?” and in response you will hear that it is certainly an expanse at a long table, where the river braga flows, and copper pipes proclaim victory over the dullness of everyday life. No, of course, there are other holidays, but it is precisely such associations that evoke the Czech punkabilly formation Queens of Everything.
This team has been in existence since 2008 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. This musical group is mainly focused on live performances, which they themselves emphasize. No, the guys are releasing records too, but for almost twenty years it’s only two albums and no singles. So, despite 11 years since the last album, the band is still functioning briskly.
Punk, swing, rockabilly, ska are the main ingredients from which this frothy drink of fun is made. Of course, the first component is the most important, but just as beer is not brewed from one hop, so the music of Queens has many different ingredients, which in turn leave a varied aftertaste. If we draw analogies, then Queens of Everything is like Rusty Sharks, but dark like The Peacocks.
Game for Life (2010)
02 No Brakes
03 Tonight Destroyed
04 I Don’t Give A Fuck
05 Monster
06 Echoes
07 Fulings
08 Secretly In Love
09 Sucks For You
10 TTR
11 Victim
12 Hurt You
13 Don’t Even Try
14 Heart Still Beating
15 Lousy Saturday
16 Out Of Luck
17 Price To Pay
Listen online or download Queens of Everything – Game for Life (2010) (mp3, 115 Mb)
The Game for Life debutant was released back in 2010. This two-disc monster has as many as 17 songs, which more than justifies the small number of releases. And, of course, he is the main reason for this publication.
The opening track of the same name immediately blows your head with a frenzied uptempo rhythm, and the brass pack evokes associations with a fast-burning fuel tanker or a crazy train going downhill.
The next song, No Brakes, continues the high-speed story. In general, the whole album is permeated by the theme of carousing self-destruction and its realization. One of the best themes for Psychobilly, in my opinion. Take the Guana Batz album, for example.
Tonight = Destroyed is about awareness of harmful tendencies. And this difficult topic is strenuously hammered into the head by a powerful contrabass movement, accentuated by melodious wind instruments.
An anthem in half with a drunken chant under the exhaustive title Don’t Give A Fuck gives major chords to the harsh “sociality” heard earlier. I would call this song sardonic.
The next couple of tracks, Monster and Echoes, lose ground somewhat. As if they would be more suitable for other groups. For example, the melody of a Monster would be perfect for HotRod Frankie. Fülings are changing their position somewhat, bringing back rich musicality, but not enough yet. This is also quite a passing composition.
But Secretly In Love is a real hit, a gem without understatement. The downbeat chorus, juicy arrangement with interesting moves flirting with classic swing, as well as the theme of awakening high feelings on not the highest ground – all this gives this song far from the last place in my personal top.
Queens Of Everything – Secretly In Love (mp3):
Next, Sucks For You plays the usual card of a fun rock’n’roll dream. TTR puts on a bit of tension, and Victim fiercely entertains with an unexpected banjo, echoing cowpunk from afar.
The punk enthusiasm is fully revealed in the subsequent compositions Hurt You and Don’t Even Try. The brass jokes in the latter are also fun. Well, they can only be called jokes.
In general, until the end of the album, this typical atmosphere for the band remains as much as possible. All the songs are wonderful, very high-quality and interesting, but, like ten years ago, for me, the best tracks are concentrated on the first half of the album. The second half is in no way inferior in terms of quality and interest, but apparently because of the large number, it is already difficult to distinguish individual ones. Well, it doesn’t matter! Take the burden by yourself, as they say. I’ve got mine, it’s up to you! In the meantime, let’s check out the second album.
God Save The Queens! (2014)
02 Rhythm Of Your Soul
03 Matter Of The Law
04 Cadillac
05 Do What We Like
06 Coming Home
07 Broken Heart
08 One Of Your Friends
09 Duro De Matar
10 Lie Lie Lie
11 7 Days
12 International Coverup
Listen online or download Queens of Everything – Game for Life (2010) (mp3, 79 Mb)
God Save The Queens! It was released four years later, in 2014. It has only 12 tracks, and this has its advantage: the concentration is much higher. In general, the sound has not changed dramatically, and there are even more associations with Rusty Sharks. I don’t know why, the vocals are still male.
On this record, the guitars have become more expressive, like in Matter Of The Law. It is also very pleasing with its keys and the more measured shuffle of Do What We Like. Cadillac inspires martial accents of brass and percussion, and Coming Home is well remembered for its snide riff. Such solemn malice later appears in One Of Your Friends, even more intriguingly.
The album ends with a fiercely cheerful pair of songs 7 Days and International Coverup, and with them, unfortunately, the band’s discography ends. And in such a modest way, I want to say that Queens of Everything is one of the most vibrant formations. Although everything sounds harmonious, with all the necessary studio-quality moments, I have a clear feeling that I have visited the summer night streets of a small European town where crazy orchestras play their concerts.
More importantly, besides the frenzied energy, Queens give many more meanings. In our cover era, when a new bill or near-bill record consists of half of “proven classics”, and about eight out of ten performances consist of tribute projects, in an era of AI and difficult promotion, there is a great lack of such a dashing and goofy, but wise and cheerful, like one brave Austro-Hungarian soldier, music. Save it to your playlist.
