Dead Furies – Rock City A Go Go
(Independent)
Reviewed by Emma Hughes.
When I pressed play on the Dead Furies’ “Rock City a Go Go” for the first time, I was tired. I had just finished an entire morning of cooking and was looking for any excuse to sit down. Within about twelve seconds of the album’s beginning, however, this high-energy, Estonian trio had successfully compelled me to get right back up again. It’s the sort of music that you know right away would be fantastic live – energetic and even frantic at times, with anthemic choruses that a full house could easily pick up and sing along to even if they’d never heard them before. And although the Dead Furies possess a fervid, genuine sound of their own, their influences are clear enough that anyone who is a fan of 80’s or 90’s punk rock should have the same reaction as me, and unapologetically reach for the volume control.
The first track “Getcha Kicks MF” is a suitably arresting and vigorous opening to an entire album that grabs you by the balls – even if you don’t have any – and seems like it has the magical power to rouse even the laziest Sunday afternoon listener (that’s me) to their feet. “Take a Chance With Me” picks up where the aforementioned left off, with the occasional air of a young Billie Joe Armstrong cutting through vocalist Ardo Fury’s appeals to the listener, while the following tracks “On a Mystery Train” and “Feast of the Vampyr” dip their toes into the bloody waters of psychobilly with homages to some of pop cultures favourite dead people. The rest of the album continues at a boiling pace, with each track at least equally as successful as the one before it – and after a few playthroughs I can confidently say that there isn’t one song on this album that I don’t enjoy listening to.
The Dead Furies have managed to maintain momentum throughout the entire journey of the album, cleverly throwing in a couple of surprises in later stages to slap any waning attention spans back into focus. Track 10, “Working Class Zero” is a great example of this, where a fantastic bridge section has cemented the late-occurring track into place as one of my favourites. Perhaps the albums infinite playability is also due in part to its conciseness, with only two tracks out of twelve exceeding three minutes in length. Nothing drags about this record, as it shouldn’t – the tracks are short and dynamic, the kind that will inspire a torrid love affair with your repeat button. At just 33 minutes in total “Rock City a Go Go” is a quick punch in the face, but one that I’m more than happy to receive multiple times over.
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