Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To rely on the world being both benevolent and attention-grabbing is too ask whether it is right to leave the nuclear button in the hands of six month old, the baby may look cute but you know at some point that object in its young paw is going to be pressed and somewhere over the horizon a rather big flash is going to appear.

You might not be able to have it both ways but in the hands of The Bordellos you can certainly always count on the decency afforded in the Punk genre and the attention-grabbing Underground Tape to keep the distant flash and the baby cry for notice as its rattle breaks firmly out our control.

The Bordellos’ Underground Tape Vol 6 is everything a fan could hope for, the rawness of the blast, the side intrigue of the inclusion of the superb Dee Claw in the opening track an unexpected bonus and the knowledge that this band truly opens its heart, and to be fair, its lungs, to the point where creation is an afterthought, it is all about where you finish before the inevitable inferno of the band carries you off.

The Underground Tape series have been illuminating, downright enjoyable and many times over the much needed antipathies of a world covered in the adored beige and never unruly. Volume 6 is no different, aside from the fantastic Dee Claw appearing on the opener Pretty Rich Girl, the band include King of the Bederoom, the superb Fruitcakes and Furry Collors and the short but ultimately sweet Arthur Lowe in a chaotic beauty mixed with so much angst that the baby in the cot with its small paws hovering near the big red button, is only one tantrum away from taking it out on us all, an exciting prospect when the old Punk feel is there to kick it off.

Underground Tape Vol 6 is the bargain of anger, of differently viewed observations and one that never gets old.

Ian D. Hall