Although named after Sid Vicious' solo album, those looking for snotty anarchic punk are going to be disappointed. Sid Sings offers their own take on straight up, blues-tinged garage rock and are fronted by a suitably feisty-sounding lady named Nikki. "Death Rattle Boogie" is a bluesy, um... boogie, with a simple, sassy vocal delivery. The music is energetic and plucky, thus making for a rather good opener, in the vein of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
"Giddy", on the other hand, is a slow burning, woozy amble of a track. It doesn't really go anywhere, trading the energy of the "Death Rattle Boogie" for a lolloping, swinging stagger, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Plus, it pulls a trick out at the death by throwing up a banjo-fused denouement. The emergence into the mainstream of Americana-folk (doff of the hat to Bon Iver, Horse Feathers, Sufjan Stevens and honorary member The Tallest Man On Earth) has ensured that the banjo is no longer viewed with suspicion, but it's unusual to see it pitch up in this brand of blues-fused garage rock. It's almost a piece that could soundtrack the opening minutes of a car advert set somewhere in the Arizona desert but maybe that's being a little bit unfair. The track is certainly nowhere near the almost uniform mundanity that is auto-mobile sales, but it does want a bit for the potent drive of the opener. Final track is "Way To Go". Beginning with a similar boogie-esque beat, the track blossoms out, fusing the itchy-feet beat with a brooding surf-guitar that eventually rolls out into snarly sweat-sodden garage rock.
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So no Sid Vicious sneering and dodgy covers. But at least these guys can play their instruments. And there's definitely some life in their brand of energetic, alt-blues.
www.myspace.com/thebandsidsings
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