'It must be something in the water' is an old cliché to fall back on, but you do wonder what the hell goes into the broad, majestic Medway Delta that allows it to spawn the most electrifying garage rock being cranked out in dear old Blighty.
Already famed for enduring cult heroes such as The Milkshakes, The Prisoners and of course Billy Childish in his many guises, the Medway may well have recently launched the Daddy of them all with THE LEN PRICE 3. They've been firm favourites round W&H Towers ever since their corking début album 'Chinese Burn' (2005) and with their third ('Pictures') they've released their finest record yet.
I say 'record' intentionally, because the LP3 are very much from the old analogue school of recording favoured by their Medway forebears and 'Pictures' (released on no less than 'Little' Steven Van Zandt's Wicked Cool label) comes on heavy duty vinyl as well as CD. Yet while there's nary a download in sight here, those 'retro' accusations which could easily be heaved at our Chatham heroes land way wide of the mark because the LP3 have bags of contemporary energy in reserve and the increasingly decisive song-writing skills of singer/ guitarist Glenn Page on their side.
Naturally, 'Pictures' delivers generously in terms of immediacy and storming garage pop power. Songs like 'Nothing Like You', 'You Tell Lies' and the daft, B-Movie-style fun of 'The Girl Who Became A Machine' are quintessential LP3 rauncherama, built upon bassist Steve Huggins and drummer Neil Fromow's pile-driving rhythms and Page's knack for cranking out atomic, Dave Davies-style riffs. Arguably even better are snotty, anti-liar anthem 'I Don't Believe You' (“If there's a God then you're going to Hell”) and the title track which comes from the voyeuristic 'Pictures of Lily' school and kicks up a royal amount of thunder for a mere 1 minute 57 seconds.
Crucially, Page's skills as both a lyricist and tunesmith are truly blossoming these days. In the way that 'All Mod Cons' represented a major step forward for The Jam, 'Pictures' demonstrates that The Len Price 3 are about much more than just amphetamine powerchords these days. Early examples of this development come with songs like 'Keep Your Eyes On Me' and the wonderful 'After You're Gone'. The former is a janglesome, mid-paced anthem ruminating on the vagaries of tabloid fame for the Jordan'n'Pete generation, while 'After You're Gone' is a bittersweet beauty with a little nod or two to The Who's 'So Sad About Us'. The message – loss and trying to cope with bereavement – however, is very much Page's own and the song's killer hook (“I'm just an hour away from a breakdown”) stays with you for ages afterwards.
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Elsewhere, there are further significant examples of the band's melodic prowess. 'If You Live Round Here' has a tough, R'n'B edge and its' barbed, anti-intolerance message (“I don't think it's right beating up a stranger on a Saturday night”) is especially necessary while there are sinister characters like the BNP'S Nick Griffin on the rise. 'Mr. Grey', meanwhile, is a deceptively winsome, Kinks-ian two-step with unexpected, 'Penny Lane'-style blasts of brass and a tragic lyrical sting in the tail and 'Jack In The Greens' comes with strings attached and an undertow of Autumnal melancholy which really suits this new crop of Page songs. Best of all, though, is the closing 'The Great Omani': a tribute to a (fictional?) home-grown Harry Houdini which has a gorgeous, staccato lightness of touch and a heartstring-tugging chorus (“don't forget me now that I'm gone”) which will have you welling up in spite of yourself. It's quite, quite lovely and surely the finest song Glenn Page has put his name to thus far.
Encompassing both their trademark breakneck brevity and strains of enviable maturity, 'Pictures' is by some way the Len Price 3's finest waxing thus far. It goes beyond the 'Mod/ garage' labels that usually tangle our Medway heroes up in blue and by rights ought to establish them on a much wider stage. As for me, I'm taking my next holiday in the Medway Delta and having a pint of whatever they're imbibing on a regular basis.
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