Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Authority without substance is overrated, it is meaningless, it means nothing and achieves only resentment and disaffection, authority without the will of the people is the daily open warfare and guaranteed manipulation of the masses, playing one of against the other; it is the best way, the only way to show How To Lose Friends And Influence No–One.
In a world that teeters at times between rampant hatred and benign indifference, the need for the shoulders of the Punk ethic to carry the weight of the inspiration and the powers of persuasion have never been greater; it is the angry that sees at times more clearly, the enraged that has the scope to shake the apathy out of others and the heated words that often can bring about the change required and in The Bordellos, the punk ethic of the 21st Century is alive and well and can certainly influence others.
If nothing else The Bordellos have some of the more interesting lyrics and song titles going, there are not many that would dare go down the road of the unsubtle and grand album title that promotes a negative thought, in the same way that Megadeth courted the pessimistic with Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying or The Sex Pistol’s charm offensive in Never Mind The B*****ks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, The Bordellos make sure their first greeting to the world in this album is memorable and perfect for the nihilistic attitude of the times we find ourselves on the fringes of.
A book should never be judged by its cover and album certainly by its name but most of the time, with the possible exception of the regretful stamp of approval in the term The Best Of…the album title is a deep and meaningful way of attracting the attention to what lurks underneath.
In songs such as I Don’t Believe In Motherfuckers Anymore, Village Green Revisited, the nod of sanity in Did The Bastards At The BBC Kill John Peel, I No Longer Speak The International Language Of Kojak, Kapiche and Piss On Spotify, the anger resonates around the once still air like a catfight in a nunnery, one where the Mother Superior rules with a rod of iron, a twitchy trigger finger and a colt 45 by her side.
The Bordellos will always brighten up the day, even if the angry and destructive don’t get why they should be influenced by the band, their friends will get it completely.
Ian D. Hall