Album Review: Kicked In The Teeth - Watling Street Chambers
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Following on from their self-titled, the Look What the Cat Dragged In EP and the debut full-length, Salt Rocket to Nowhere, Northwich punks, Kicked in the Teeth are gearing up for the imminent release of their second record, Watling Street Chambers, just in time for the May Day Bank Holiday.
As someone who’s had a whale-of-a-time seeing these lads at Rebellion festival a couple years back I was chomping at the bit to find out what they’d been up to. The answer is crafting ten punk-hardcore-metal hybrid tunes that are nothing if not a rollicking good time.
Although the entirety of Watling Street Chambers barely reaches the twenty-five-minute mark, it’s a blistering and exhausting ride through Kicked in the Teeth’s influences. From the So-Cal sound of Bad Religion and Pennywise, to the defiantly British attitude of UK82 bands The Exploited, GBH and Discharge, these Cheshire-cats have simply strapped on and let the music do the talking.
Opener, Savour the Victory, one of three singles being lined up from this release, finds guitarist Joe Penny alternating between clean, squeaky punk lines and some galloping, heavy rhythms, all the while being ably supported by one-time The Business drummer, Chris Mundie, and bassist Mike Lovatt.
Even at this early stage, Kicked in the Teeth are starting to show their classic rock credentials, sounds that will repeatedly raise their heads throughout the proceedings. There Will Be Nothing, another leading track, takes things in a different direction, focusing on the fast and furious, machine gun riffing which, though coming over like a punch in the face, is still wholly accessible. Final track of the three chosen to promote the album is Werewolf, an outlier for Watling Street Chambers as it is the closest the band get to pure punk rock – but with a hook-laden, danceable beat, driving rhythms and was that a theremin I heard in the opening section?
The hardcore punk elements pay tribute to the early Eighties years of bands like Black Flag and Descendants and pepper the record at every turn. Better Days is a perfect marriage between metal and punk through furious blasts, discordance and an upbeat message, delivered by overdriven guitars.
The title track is a bit grooving, Death of Me grinds along with a down and dirty rhythm and a breakneck pace, as does Lightning Tree, adding a little acapella harmonisation between Joe and lead vocalist Jay Concannon. There’s even a tip of the hat to the early Eighties metal ambience during the solo, which certainly starts to take you back in time.
Sure to be a live favourite is Wooden Gun, packed full of punk attitude, its simple but effective riff is built around an impressive hook that is guaranteed to motivate any crowd who hear it. Plastic Lungs as another straining at the slips, taking much inspiration from the UK82 crowd; and those classic rock motifs, audible throughout Watling Street Chambers, come to the fore in Some Things Never Change’s more complex structure and full-bodied soloing.
Although brief, Kicked in the Teeth have delivered a concise and well-crafted blitzkrieg of a record, one that challenges the listener just to keep up at times, and one that has all the chops to appeal simultaneously to metal heads, punks and old school hardcore fans.
