The Velvet Underground, Dylan, Patti Smith, Rod Stewart, The Faces, The Buzzcocks, The Gun Club, The Stems, The Violent Femmes, The Cramps, Jimmie Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, The New York Dolls, psychedelic nuggets, The Seeds, The Kinks, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lewis, CCR, Stones etc, The Ramones, stuff by our friends.
Drunk on a Train
The Painkillers
(Blazing Strumpet/Reverberation)
4 stars out of 4.
James Baker played drums for many of Australia’s great rock bands – the Victims, the Scientists, the Hoodoo Gurus and the Beasts of Bourbon – but left before they took off. And now he has applied his powerful primitive drumming style to new duo The Painkillers, teaming up with acoustic guitarist Joe Bludge. Drunk on a Train contains a suite of 11 lo-fi organic songs that fuse the early acoustic Bob Dylan with the detached cool and New York drawl of ‘80s solo era Lou Reed. The catchy title track and Wild & Western Land are reminiscent of the punk folk styling of soon-to-be-touring Hammell on Trial and punk poet Jim Carroll; while Facility Friend and the whimisical Honey Bees recalls slacker rocker J Mascis’ mellower offerings and Porcupine is reminiscent of the Lemonheads at their most reflective. It’s the cracked vocal, lived-in lyrics, loose playing and 3am on the couch-and-beerscharm that make it so appealing.
PATRICK DONOVAN
Discography
"Drunk on a Train" through Blazing Strumpet Records, September 2006.
Hey James and Josh. Please come over to Melbourne with us!!!!! you'll have a CD to pump and we can share some costs. But most off all it will just be fuckin' cool. We'll bring in Little Richards birthday on the Friday.
Hey ya Rogan Josh and HomeBaker (cooo- two kitchen related painkiller thingies - me on roll tonite) hope's yrrrr all well and above board. As Smokey says and does Arhhh!
HNY'rs, James and Joe! It was nonstop tittilation for me. Fell asleep, watching TV, on the couch at about 10:30. Hope you had a decent gig, if not, a decent time. All the best from '08 on....... Dv
Avec grand plaisir!!! And meanwhile I saw your comment, i listened to Know your product (like right now) on my Facebook page!?! Thank you all Christophe Schmitt
