The Spangles “Sweet FA”      

       

The Spangles are a ‘new’ band on the punk rock scene. But they actually consist of members of the brilliant Main Grains. With Danny McCormack of the Main Grains resuming his duties with The Wildhearts, then some of the others obviously felt the need to keep themselves occupied… and we’re sure glad they did!

Not surprisingly, opening number “Growing Up” shares a lot of similarities with the music of the Main Grains. It’s a similar case with “Back On The Meds” and “I Don’t Wanna Go”, which are classic punk, rock n roll numbers. They’re in your face punk rock but with the added benefit of big hooks.

Interestingly, some of the best songs on this album, like “One Good Reason” and “Dirty Pictures”, actually recall Danny’s even earlier band The Yo-Yos (who gave us one of our favourite albums of all time!). These songs allow the rock n roll influence to take the lead over their punk rock sound. There’s an almost rockabilly feel, but with a bit more added muscle and attitude. They’re also not afraid to throw in a bit of a power pop feel on “The Only One” and “Alone”, which are two of our favourite tracks on the album. The ‘pop’ element grows even stronger with “Hold My Hand”, which has an almost Weezer esque sound to it.

It’s appropriate that the album also includes an ode to The Ramones (“Ramone”). The Spangles’ sound is more expansive that The Ramones, but still seems to be based on the principle of keeping things loud, fast, simple and most importantly fun. There’s not really a need to over analyse this album. It’s just a cracking punk rock album, perfectly built for accompanying a few beers and being a soundtrack to having a good time and forgetting your troubles. Now, surely, that’s what rock n roll should be all about.