ALBUM REVIEW: The DeRellas – Trust Me This Is Going To Hurt (Rockaway Records)
Trust Me … is the fifth album from The DeRellas, a sleazy glam-punk ‘n’ roll band from London town.
It was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign last year which helped them get it recorded and produced at Pat Collier’s studio – one of the last bands the former Vibrators bassist worked with.
Consisting of Timmy DeRella on vocals/bass, Luca DeRella on lead guitar, Steve Grainger on drums and most recent recruit Jez Miller on guitar, it sounds more like a product of early ’70s USA than millennial London.
Taking their cues from the New York Dolls, Dead Boys, Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers and the MC5, The DeRellas cut a gritty path through 11 raw-vocalled tracks, kicking off with lead single Just Because I Smile, It Doesn’t Mean I Like You.
It comes tearing out of the speakers and sets the template for what’s to follow; two and a half minutes of seedy punk rock ‘n’ roll, with guitar, bass and drums providing a swaggering backdrop for Timmy’s rasping vocals.
He sounds like he’s smoked way too many fags and had more shots of JD than is healthy for any mortal, but it suits The DeRellas’ sleazy glam-punk sound down to the ground.
All but two of the songs are originals; the exceptions are Night Time, a version of Jayne County’s cover of The Strangeloves’ 1965 hit, and Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Trust me, you’ve never heard it sound like this….
This is a record full of dirty riffs, big hooks, and you can almost smell the leather jackets and battered Converse.
Loveless Landslide Of Love sounds like Slade-style glam boogie, while Fake It Til You Make It comes over like a sneering guide to succeeding in the music industry.
Things get more personal on A Shot of Feelings, where Timmy admits “I feel numb inside, I need a lot of healing”, and on If Your World Falls Apart.
Empire Vultures slows things down a touch, and would have been a big hit single back in the day, while closer Stop Living in My Brain comes across like the sort of B-movie fodder which the Ramones, Cramps and Misfits did so well, and is an apt closer for the album. 8/10.
- Trust Me This is Going to Hurt is available on CD, vinyl and digitally from www.derellas.com and Bandcamp HERE.
