{"id":7763,"date":"2022-07-10T09:44:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T08:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=7763"},"modified":"2022-07-10T09:44:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-10T08:44:37","slug":"spunk-volcano-and-the-eruptions-sixth-album-is-their-best-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=7763","title":{"rendered":"Spunk Volcano and the Eruptions’ sixth album is their best so far"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALBUM REVIEW: Spunk Volcano and The Eruptions – Knackers Yard (Avenue Recordz)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Is there no stopping the man who calls himself Spunk Volcano? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as being frontman and songwriter for punk rock sensations Dirt Box Disco<\/a><\/strong>, he also fronts Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions<\/a><\/strong>, who are much, much more than a side project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He’s an astonishingly prolific writer. This is the sixth SV&TE album since 2014, and he’s also penned eight for DBD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inevitably, writing, recording and performing in two bands appears to have caught up with him, and The Eruptions have announced they’re taking a break after fulfilling their existing live obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s a real shame, as this is their best album yet, and I’d hope the masked lunatic feels able to return refreshed at some point in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"spunk<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Knackers Yard<\/em> is 11 tracks of top-notch spunk rock, with a bonus track for those who buy the CD version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s punkier than Dirt Box, with a bit of metal thrown in, and even a touch of hardcore in places. But whatever the style, the four-piece do it very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when Steve Jones yelled ‘hold on, give it some bollocks’ on the Sex Pistols’ Friggin In The Riggin’? Spunk doesn’t need to be asked, as Knackers Yard<\/em> is full of huge riffs from the off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But where previous releases have celebrated the joys of being bored with nothing to do, hanging round the shops and getting your first car, this one feels much more personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opener I Am A Capsule<\/em> is a swaggering punk rocker about being wrapped up in yourself, while the title track Knackers Yard <\/em>is an ode to the ‘joys’ of getting old – or, as Spunk puts it: “I’m fucking telling you I’m fucking fucked.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"spunk<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It’s All Kicking Off<\/em>, which tips a nod to Pretty Vacant<\/em>, is about being caught up in bother when you go out for a quiet pint, while the pacey Job Opportunity<\/em> features a great guitar solo and powerful drumming as the merits (or otherwise) of community service are outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re entering the central section of the album now, and the boys have really hit their stride. Madhouse<\/em>, six minutes long, with juddering metallic riffs, tackles the subject of mental health, while Menky Man<\/em>, which is heading towards hardcore territory, calls out those who live ‘perfect’ lives on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mordrake <\/em>is a slower number, and one of their most powerful. It’s about the fake story of a Victorian English nobleman who had two faces, and ended up killing himself because he was being driven mad by his ‘devil twin’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spunk pens some of his best lyrics here, singing: “I pretend that I am dead, to fool the people in my head, if I don’t move they think I’ve gone away”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"spunk<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By total contrast, the breakneck-paced Pit Bull Facelift<\/em> could be a classic UK82 band like Discharge, GBH or The Exploited, showing that The Eruptions can switch styles at will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Tears Get Washed Away<\/em>, a break-up song with slick call and response vocals, is the most Dirt Box Disco-like song here. Based around a dirty, throbbing bassline, it urges a soon-to-be ex: “Hurry up, hurry up and go\/Before my feelings show\/Hurry up, hurry up and go\/Before I cry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead And The Mirror<\/em>, which closes the download version of the album, is another change of pace. The bluster and swagger are gone, and it has a real stripped-down gothic feel as Spunk croons “Scared of life\/Scared of death\/Scared of most things.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CD-only bonus track Shit Stirrers and Scaremongers<\/em> is the one which best fits in with their previous work, ending with the coda “if you knew the truth you’d fucking shit yourself”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this does turn out to be the last Spunk Volcano and The Eruptions album (and I really hope it’s not), what a way to go out. 8.5\/10.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n