ALBUM REVIEW: Spunk Volcano and the Eruptions – Barry Milner Is Thick (Avenue Recordz)
Spunk Volcano, the masked lunatic who fronts both the Eruptions and Dirt Box Disco, is nothing if not prolific.
He’s already written and released a new DBD album this year, and follows it with album number five from his increasingly impressive other band (they’re way beyond being a side project).
The fact it’s less than 18 months since their previous release, the 25-track 2CD set Double Bastard, makes his rate of songwriting frankly astonishing, all the more so because the quality never dips.
They take you on a nostalgia trip to better, simpler times, or offer a unique insight into the struggles which most of us face on an everyday basis. Sometimes they’re silly, sometimes they’re rude, sometimes they’re sad – but you can’t ignore songs this good.
The band – Spunk on vocals and guitar, Tom ‘G Force’ Batterbee and Scott Bones on guitar, Joey Strange on bass and Maff Fazzo on drums – are a punk rock whirlwind, throwing out riffs and hooks at will, underpinned by a thunderous backbeat.
This album – which takes its name from some graffiti spotted on a bridge – contains 14 tracks which show the main man’s increasing confidence as a songwriter, switching between styles at will.
The wonderfully catchy Broken Hearts Make Better Songs eases us in gently, and those of a certain age are then transported back in time to more carefree days with lead single Football In The Sun (Ossie Ardiles).
Those same listeners will also identify with Council Pop, a not-so-rose-tinted look back to a childhood before kids expected a visit to Subway for their lunch – “drink it out the fucking tap when it’s hot”.
The short and sweet Little Red Buggy, which appears to be about shitting yourself as a child, has chugging guitars Metallica would be proud of, while Magic Manikin (“you freak me out cos you move about when I’m not looking”) could easily have ended up on a DBD record.
This Is Fucking Shit is an angry slice of spunk rock addressing the frustrations of being in a boring job, but could just as well be about the year 2020 in general, while Hard As Nails is about the sort of nutter you don’t want to get on the wrong side of in the pub or at the match.
It’s not all punk rock shock and awe though; this album shows a growing maturity to Spunk’s songs too.
Soldier On is about trying to cope with life’s regrets, while Tomorrow’s Promises sees Spunk in full-on broken heart mode, and the closing Caving In displays a previously unseen vulnerable side to his songwriting. Are there no end to his talents?
From sweetly sappy love songs, to hardcore thrash, and everything in between, it seems there’s nothing Spunk Volcano can’t turn his hand to. This is their best album so far. After a couple of listens these tunes will be in your head for days. 8/10.
- Barry Milner Is Thick is available on CD and vinyl from Avenue Recordz HERE.
