Tracks: Beat You Up / I LoveYour Necrophiliac / Rock Action / Dynamite / Chinese Song
Features Steve Jones on 'Rock Action'.
Pray, Hell, and Wong. Three girls you won't want to mess with. Their five track debut on Alan McGee's Poptones label is an interesting affair. Rampant disco rhythm is what drives these leather-clad temptresses. The unmistakable sound of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' underpins the opening track, subtly titled 'Beat You Up'. You wouldn't doubt it. So how does Steve Jones's style sit alongside such a backdrop? Quite nicely as it happens. 'Rock Action' (almost six minutes of it) is further proof that Steve's guitar-playing is undergoing a renaissance. It's another unmistakable blistering display. Thundering guitars, scintillating solos, they are all present from the off and are more than a match for the pounding dance beat. Although the middle third of the track is dominated by the driving beat in tandem with sci-fi effects plus some moaning (Donna Summer again), Steve screeches back in and roars through to the end of the song. The remainder of the EP is a touch repetitive, although I'm still trying to work out 'Chinese Song' a curious piece which finishes the set with the girls whispering 'Ping Pong Bitches', just in case you had any doubt!
The Ping Pong Bitches may be an acquired taste, but 'Rock Action' will delight Steve fans. The boy just gets better! Oh, and a certain Malcolm McLaren gets a credit on the sleeve.
Reviewed by Phil Singleton 2001.
Further information can be found at www.poptones.co.uk
All material ©1998/2002 Philjens/www.cookandjones.co.uk