Sick Things

Sick Things (2018)

mikebored

With the end of the 80's (or mid 80's,

whichever way you think it is), there also came the end of the

infamous power pop/glam/hair metal wave. With the power pop ballads

of 'Cum on Feel the Noize', 'Panama' and 'Girls Girls Girls' being

replaced by Grunge and Alternative anthems it seemed that these bands

had all but run out of their juice or most fans had grown and traded

their Hairsprays and Leather pants for a comb and a 3 piece suit to

fit into their day jobs.

Of course, that's not to say that there

aren't still the odd revivalist band out there (i'm looking at you

Steel Panther) but you can safely say that this genre of music has

gone the way of the dinosaur - just don't tell your dad. Still, you

can appreciate the lengths that some of these bands go to to honour

the past with their over-the-top music videos, falsetto singing,

dual-octave guitar solos and reverb-y drum snares (hello, The

Darkness…). Bands which still manage to garner a pretty solid and

dedicated fanbase, both young and old alike with sold out concerts

and premium slots at festivals.

In come now Sick Things.

Hailing from Montreal and featuring

members of Beat Cop, Trigger Effect and Barnburner, they're self

described as a rock and roll band with 'non-ironic' guitar solos –

talk about cutting to the chase here – and their debut self-titled

full length release (via God's Candy Records) doesn't stop short with

all the stops and goodies you'd expect from a Twisted Sister album.

Starting off the release strong with

the muscular track Take the Head from the Crown, they don't waste

time jumping straight to the action. This seems like the perfect jam

I'd like to listen to on a desert highway with miles between me and

the next car. Guitars have that nice distorted tone that isn't too

much for the ear but perfectly compliments the pounding drums and

accompanying guitar solos, which are plenty.

Further into the release comes the

actual track Sick Things. The duelling guitar riff at the beginning is

perfectly arranged to start the song off and the chorus itself is a

chanty anthem whose melody could get stuck in anyone's head, if those

particular guitar riffs didn't already. With mentions of fighting

like Capulets (hello, Shakespeare) and the skillful rhyming of 'Must

be in Denial, like a Juvenile' flows through the song effortlessly,

adding power to the passionate conveyance of the vocals, leading into

the climactic chorus ending which you kind of wish didn't end,

truthfully.

The album finishes off with the

semi-slower Dog Days which the band made sure not to leave anything

out with a timing of almost 5 minutes, the longest off the whole

album. Starting off yet again with guitars that compliment each other

and drums that bang right in and give the song a whole 'love gone

wrong' feeling to it. Sure it's been done before but that doesn't

deflect the fact of the guitar solo ending that serves as a final

adieu to what you had been listening to for the past 30 minutes or so

– that said it would've been interesting to hear some sort of

ballad a la 'Patience' from the group but perhaps we'll find it in a

future release.

You can't go wrong with the production

as well, the recording having been skillfully recorded, mixed and

mastered and while production credits are not listed, the

engineer/producer definitely knew what sound they were looking here

and well, they nailed it. Kudos to them, whoever they are.

Sick Things seem to be having all the

right stuff going on for them. From their songwriting to their

musicianship to their past experience with bands, this album is a

testimony to it all. Having already opened for bands such as

Alexisonfire, the Buzzcocks and playing at festivals including Pop

Montreal and Osheaga, there's no telling what can happen for them in

the future.

Best song off the release: Sick Things

– go figure, the song that is named after the band, this one

captures the entire essence of them and what they're all about. But

hey, don't take my word for it – have a listen yourself.

https://thesickthings.bandcamp.com/releases