Lord knows there's no shortage of bands looking to turn the clock back to the garage explosion of the 60s and early 70s. In such a saturated market, it's tough enough for a band to distinguish themselves from their peers, let alone to crawl from beneath the lengthy shadow cast by such acts as The Troggs, The Stooges, or The Monks. But while Hornet Leg frontman Chris Sutton (also of C.O.C.O. and Dub Narcotic Sound System) doesn't quite provide us with our generation's “Louie Louie,” I can unequivocally say that I enjoy his latest effort, Ribbon of Fear, more than any like-minded album I've heard all year.
Hornet Leg sounds immediately familiar, but try to pinpoint their source and its name gets stuck on the tip of your tongue. Of anyone, Sutton comes off like a less snotty Rodney Anonymous (The Dead Milkmen). But while Ribbon of Fear doesn't careen quite as wildly as, say, Beelzebubba, the band does cover a broad array of styles. More straightforward punk numbers like the title track are as likely to give way to the rockabilly camp of “Night of the Phantom” as they are to the country-tinged lament “Ruined My Life” or the bluesy “Rollin' and Tumblin'.” The whole mess is held together by deliciously minimal production. Its sound is so naked and matter-of-fact that, had I encountered this album out in the wild without an accompanying press sheet, I would have pegged it as some lost artifact of the 80s underground.
A few standout tracks help elevate the record to truly memorable status. The just-under-two-minute “Sleep” hums along on a smooth bassline toward a wordless sock-hop breakdown at the end of each verse. Sutton's vocals are at their most frazzled, as he bemoans his insomnia following the loss of his lady love. “Savage” is an ode to teenage lust worthy of Iggy in his prime. Here, Sutton summons an appropriately cranky guitar snarl to accompany some of his less ambiguous sentiments: “She wants to celebrate me in the back of her car/ I'm better than average/ I fuck like a savage.”
Clocking in at only 37 minutes, Ribbon of Fear is a nice, brisk listen. It channels an era that so many bands fetishize while avoiding the quagmire of pastiche through clever songwriting. Although this is only the band's first full-length release, they have purportedly undergone a variety of aesthetic permutations in the six years it took them to get here. In whatever form Hornet Leg manifest themselves the next time around, let's hope that it's as much fun as this one.
1. Ribbon of Fear
2. Wait
3. Ruined My Life
4. My Baby
5. Night of the Phantom
6. Sleep
7. I'm Leaving You
8. Snake Oil
9. This Song is Wrong
10. Disco Junkie
11. We're So Ugly
12. Circles
13. Savage
14. Rollin' and Tumblin'