Album Review: The Black Pitts, Nevada Jacks

Dublin punk outfit The Black Pitts make the kind of noise that’s typically heard during late nights at Fred Zeppelins or Fibber Magee’s. And guess what? It’s brilliant. Nevada Jacks makes a sublime addition to the Irish rock canon, capturing as it does the magic and the energy of early punk as typified by outfits like The Ramones, The Undertones, The Runaways etc.

Dripping in magnetic guitar riffs and pulse-accelerating drums, the album opens with ‘Culture Vultures’, a superb slice of glam-rock. ‘New Boots And Attitude’ and ‘Therein Lies The Rub’ ooze Britpop energy, while ‘Stumped’ captures elements of garage-punk à la The Stooges.

The drumming is by Jay Bagnell – of Paranoid Visions fame – guaranteeing an incredibly gritty sound. Add epic solos to the mix and this eight-track release is a no-skip work of alternative art. Each song contains no more than three-minutes of ear-worm ecstasy – well, aside from ‘It Only Hurts When I’m Sober’, the token ‘slow’ track.

Lead single ‘Laughter In The Dark’ – possibly the catchiest cut – delivers potent lyrics, a snappy hook and energy reminiscent of The Clash. However, for me, the final tracks ‘The Evil Dead’ and ‘Now She’s Gone’ – storming punk numbers that bring the album to an almighty close – are the stand-outs. Excellent stuff.

8/10