Album Review: Trouble Pilgrims, Dark Shadows & Rust

If you're looking for trouble, you've come to the right place, or - to be more poetically precise - the heirs to The Radiators From Space! Hot on the heels of the 40th anniversary deluxe edition of the aforementioned punk legends' TV Tube Heart debut, comes this long-awaited LP from The Trouble Pilgrims. With a line-up including two original Radiators - Pete Holidai and Steve Rapid - along with Bren Lynott, Tony St Ledger and Johnnie Bonnie, these Dublin punk veterans haven't lost their bite.
Besides, they've been plying their live trade very successfully for some time now, with notable appearances at the Kilkenny Roots Festival, among other events. As was the case with their antecedents, it isn't all about aggression. Certainly, glorious power-pop is the only way to describe 'Long Way To The Sun', which comes across like a long-lost classic, complete with irresistible chorus. 'Death Ballad' is similarly imbued with melodic finesse and crunching guitar, while 'Queen Of Heartache' is Ramones-meets-Rockpile in spirit. Some of these songs are already familiar, including the menacing 'Animal Gang Blues', which relates the story of the notorious gangs who emerged from the tenements of inner-city Dublin in the 1940s. More classic new wave textures are in evidence on the snappy 'Instant Polaroid', which is all chiming guitars and headrush lyrics, while the sleazy 'Sex In A Cheap Motel' oozes decadence and chugging guitars. A further definite highlight is 'Reach Out', which is a heady a call to arms to oust the "madman in the White House".
It's vintage class-of-1977 fare with an updated manifesto, and - like the album as a whole - terrific stuff.

8/10
Out now