ENGLISH DOGS (UK PUNK VERSION)
We Did, We Do, We Always Fucking Will!
Nunny Dave Records/Massprod/PHR records collaboration
Both current separate versions of the English
Dogs, The UK “punk version”, and the US “metal version” put out releases almost
simultaneously, both available on vinyl. In Part 2 we’ll check out the US metal
version’s release. In part 3 we’ll stack them up to see who put out the best
record.
First up in the battle is the UK Punk English Dogs. Original
vocalist Wakey formed this version of the band a few years ago after countless
line-ups, settling on this line up in
which he’s the only original member. After loads of shows and a few EP’s we
have “We did, We do, We always fucking will”.
Here Wakey retains the punk spirit of the band’s first
incarnanation; they maintain the initial template of no fuss punk rock, and the original flavour of the English Dogs
complete with the Wakey humour, warped
world view, and astute lyricism that permeated
the English Dogs earliest stuff, while still moving the sound forward.
It kicks off with the
sharp and buzzy, Ripper on the Street (I’m a
human dustcart cleaning up the waste) which gives you an idea of where things are going here. Then it’s Death To the Dogs in which Wakey gives it with bile to the
current metal version of the English Dogs “Death to the Dogs/The heavy metal
dogs/What legend forgot/The lies in the book/The royalties they took/That
racket..what the fuck?/ So I lay down a challenge your album versus ours ”
(which we will explore in Parts Two and Three of Battle of the English Dogs
vinyl releases 2014). Society Insults me follows, then the first of a couple of ones about drugs, Toot, and Chemical General. Side one finishes up with Ross Lomas, City Baby, Ignite books, a hilarious anecdote of Wakey
attempting to buy the aforementioned GBH bass player’s autobiography.
Side two commences with the incisive Pater Betrayal. Brain disease “There’s people out there
that think we’re mental/approaching middle age and still wanna pogo” and Punk
and Judy continue the madness. The title track (featuring vocals from The
Varukers Rat and Jason from Bastard Squad) says it all really; “Thirty seven years and
still counting/Dad said he’s going through a phase/Well it’s a fuck of a
phase/middle aged and grey/United we
don’t care”. The whole album is infused with energy, fun, madness, melody and
mayhem. A good indicator of wether a record’s any good is if you wanna give it
another spin pretty quickly – which I did.
Package wise, good
stuff. The cover (with a nice new “purpose built to distance ourselves from the
Metal Dogs English Dogs” font) is perhaps a nod back to “Mad Punx and English Dogs” – although
they seem a bit more unified here on the front cover pic. It’s all pretty well
set out, the layout pays homage to the
band’s punk/madness aesthetic. There’s a well put together inner sleeve with
lyrics and nice pics. Good quality vinyl. Production is well charted,
everything’s clear in the sound, well set out, not too glossy, and there’s a good stereo sound. Wakey’s warped personality is captured in the vocals and shine through perfectly on
this recording. The band are pretty
tight as a unit, and it’s obvious they all work well together. The CD
apparently comes with extras (digipak
with extra CD and video) but I’m not complaining - vinyl only here thanks.
Great stuff, a great punk record. This is a great addition
to the English Dogs legacy, and good to see them back to “core business”. “This
punk music will never die” – from Invasion of the Porky Men’s “Never Die” .The
UK Punk English Dogs have set the bar high for their US Metal counterparts in
the challenge of the English Dogs 2014 vinyl releases.
