Texas Platinum

Texas power duo, Jonny and Carley Wolf, kick plenty of ass on their sophomore album. There's all the fuzz, scuzz, face-melting fuck-youness, of debut 'Man, Woman, Beast', and then some more. Think garage; think primal; think riot grrrl; think White Stripes-meets-Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a gonzoid blues blender, operated by a cackling Iggy. Thin The Kills; but with better vocals.Things kick off with a short, George Gallowayesque, rant; via Soviet Russia!! Bonkers, or what? 'Attitude Problem' gives it 'the finger' straight off; all punky, shouty, no-nonsense. Third track, 'Strychnine In My Lemonade', ramps up the dirty guitar riffs; catchy chorus, and a super vocal from Ms Wolf. They let out their inner-Sabbath for 'Noisy Neighbours/Yuppy Scum', before things go a bit pear-shaped, with the somewhat join-the-dots scuzziness of 'Crybabies' - although the pounding drums just about rescue it from snoozeville. Fortunately, next track - 'Whettin My Knife' - ups the ante, with a stomping stormer.'Bunny Run' has some nice piano touches, and a driving r'n'r riff; a real treat. 'Hill Country Howl' is one of three, very short, 'soundscapes' - in this case, some howling mutts. Then its onto the percussive 'All The Good's Gone'; crystal-clear vocals, allied to minimalistic instruments; the same feel carries over into 'Triple Full Moon', before it really 'wigs out' with a few screams, plus a great big dirty riff. So far, so great; they really know how to shake 'it' up to alleviate boredom setting in.'Journey On' has some punktastic drumming, dive-bombing guitar licks, plus another superb vocal. The fuzz&scuzz quotient really kicks in on 'Vroom Vroom' - all stoner riffs, and a Siouxsie Sue-type workout from Carley; intense. 'I Got Money' is a bit nowheresville, whilst the T.Rexy 'Trippin' has some nice metal fuzzbox, but teeters on the edge of 'meh'. Have they run out of creative steam? Well, no; the ultra electro-bluesy 'Shouldn't Have Lied' changes gear downwards, and kicks the interest factor back into play; some great drumming here. Then we're onto the home straight with the punky, glammy, stomper of 'Valley Of The Wolves', before it comes to a close with the downbeat, lo-fi, folky 'DYGKD'.So; seventeen tracks over forty minutes, most of which throw some great genre-switching shapes. There's a touch of filler - rent-a-scuzz licks - but mostly The Ghost Wolves turn in a hugely entertaining, raw, vibrant, in-yer-face, slab of wonderfulness. One of my favourite records from 2017, it's well-worth buying.