The Planchettes : "the Truth"

Of all the post-punk revival bands I think this is the first that I have heard influenced by the Cramps. The male vocals are really crazed at times, though over all their is more of a punk vibe to his vocals. The guitar tone is pretty authentic. It's more of a twangy cow punk on the punchier "Mourning Sun" . There is more of a 60s garage rock feel to "Let's Last Forever". I can see hippies dancing to this and not the Charles Manson kind.  Not only is the bass player hot , but she can crank out a solid groove. The horror thing was thrown around in their press release, but this is the first song where lyrically it is in your face. The vocals improve on this one, they were not bad before , just more refined here. The guitar playing on this album is really solid if you like the early days of rock n roll.

The title track is more up beat , but not as interesting as the previous songs and feels like run of the mill rock n roll that is playing it more safe than the other songs.  "She's So Violent" is like if the Rolling Stones got method out. It's more punk than Keith and the Boys normally are. So this is not just Cramps worship. As the album progresses  it gets more rock n roll. I expect something a little darker from a song called "Death in  Bloom".  Midway into the album it's more garage rock and nothing like the Cramps at all aside from the fact they are playing electric instruments. He uses a throatier lower vocal on "Empress of Fools" . The song rides tension without giving the pay off.

They do prove they are good at just playing straight up rock n roll on "Everyone Else" . They continue to boogie. Their bassist also lends her voice to this one. They do talk about suicide  and the end of the world. I am not sure I would say those things are horror in and of themselves, but they can be elements of it. I had to listen to listen to "Angel's Wing " a couple times before it clicked.  They are great at this style of rock n roll I guess the problem I had was I was hoping this would be darker and more horror focused, as it is they do a fine job of capturing the sound they are after. I will give this album an 8.