The Rumours ~ Suck It

Before I jump into talking about this fantastic record from The Rumours, lemme tell you how I came to know about the band and have the record – it’s important or well it is to me. A few weeks back a Record Group that I’m a part of on Fakebook was hosting a “CHEAP” record selling event to help raise spirits due to the current Pandemic. I should also note that FREEBIES were sprinkled in with the event, the only rule was only one cheap purchase or freebie during the event. I’m always on the hunt for Oldschool Thrash that’s affordable and cool Glam/Sleaze stuff that I don’t have already – that’s damned near impossible – there’s currently a wall of Sleaze behind me, not to mention the rest of Sleaze scattered all over this room. Seriously, my listening room smells of aqua net, whiskey, gasoline, cigarette smoke and pussy – and that’s only from the record/cd collection.Anyway, a gentleman posted this record up for FREE and the name of the band sounded familiar, so I hit the youtubes real quick and previewed a few tunes as fast as possible to be sure I didn’t miss out on a zinger. The tracks I peeped fucking RIPPED! After calling dibs, it was made known to me by this kind fellow that he would be purchasing me the record and having the band send it to me. Read that again, he PURCHASED a record to give away in order to support the band and brighten someone else’s day. Folks, we live in a shit world, packed with jackasses, plastic smiles and fakes galore, this form of kindness is SO rare in strangers, it really is, particularly in the music scene (at least my scene it feels that way). I know a great deal of the time, I act nonchalant and tough, but I gotta tell ya from a fan/record collector/human being and musician’s point of view, I am deeply touched/moved by the sentiment. The human condition and ways of love was alive and well on this night. Making it all the more sweeter was the record got here in no time flat considering the current shitshow that is the USPS.

I can’t pretend to know a great deal about the band, after a brief bit of research, the band is a quartet comprised of female vocalist/guitarist(Carli), female bassist (Ela) and male drummer (Daniel) and male guitarist (Stu). This LP entitled, “Suck It” is the band’s 2nd full length release and their first to be pressed to vinyl.  After a few spins,  I’m hearing strong influences/vibes from several noteworthy bands – first and foremost, the now defunct, Betty Blowtorch, which is one of my ALL TIME favorite all girl bands ever – R.I.P. Bianca! The Betty Blowtorch thumbprint whether intentional or not is all over this album and I’m in love with that alone! If you don’t know who they are, go and look up “Shut up and Fuck”! I swear you’ll stop at nothing to buy the cd directly afterwards. Other influences that shine bright – The legendary Runaways, who paved the way for girls to ROCK in this manner – filthy and sleazy! The Donnas is another strong vibe I’m getting, there’s a subtle Power Pop sensibility that runs throughout the album, although it’s not completely obvious on the first listen or two. There’s also a nasty Ramones/Generation X/Billy Idol vibe – snarls, snottiness, the song arrangements and that devil may care/caution to the wind approach runs wild! Opening track “Hey You” is straight up Snotty Punk with no apologies, it’s a nice icebreaker/neck breaker. However you wanna look at it, you’re in for a treat and before you know it, it’ll be time to flip the record over.The first track I actually heard off the album is my personal favorite “You Suck, Baby” – it’s a driving “love” song packed with all the reasons/things she wants to do to her man, yours or someone else’s – if it’s your man, you’re in trouble unless he’s in the closet, the lyrics/music are hotter than a 2 dollar whore on the street corner on Taco Tuesday! “He’s right, I wanna bite, “He’s stoned, I wanna bone” and the most important of them all “You suck, baby, I wanna FUCK”! It’s a straight up Sleaze-fest that no other female fronted band has been able to capture/pull off properly since Betty Blowtorch. “Put Your Love On My Face” is another track that oozes SEX and I don’t need to tell you why. This track also harnesses that Ramones/Donnas feel perfectly, it’s as much Pop oriented as it is Glam/Punk. “Electric Blues” is a sleeper track, it’s not a smack in the face, but more of a mid-paced number crammed with sweet Rock N’ Roll guitar riffs/leadbreaks that could be easily heard on several releases from the late 80’s.