THE SCOTCH OF SAINT JAMES – VIGILANTE NECKTIE PARTY

The kind of rock that The Scotch of Saint James make has not enjoyed popularity since the early 90”s. Instead of aiming at feaux-stadium idiotics or post-Stones riffage, these guys have tapped into the type of suave, dark-eyed rock n’ roll that was explored by so many of our forefathers of the underground.  Take Square Eyes, whose pounding drum intro instantly harkens to Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls’ Dumb Things and feels almost like the devil’s twin of Spring Rain. Things are ramped up a little to Living-End sort of proportions with Blue Plastic Spoon, and then the the stoner riffs come out for The Happy Peacock, the album’s best track with its satisfyingly psychedelic groove, Revolution-style fuzz guitar and chaotic crux. There’s nothing overtly fascinating going on here, in fact some of the more token tracks really just roll along like b-sides from so many familiar oz-rock singles. But occasionally these guys do push the bar just far enough to grab your attention, such as the largely instrumental rhapsody Oliver, where they show off their finest noise skills and Manchester vocals. It’s not a bad  brew, all told.

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