Sexual Harassment - Turbonegro

Picking up where the New York Dolls threw-up Turbonegro have never been the most couth of bands out there. Their stock-in-trade is punked up 70's Rolling Stones with a lot more nihilism and deviant sexual imagery. Over the last 20+ years they have played hard, fast, and sleazy as hell rock-and-roll which, normally, results in an urge for me to dig out a bottle and put up a finger to the world. However whilst the music is still very clearly there their latest album just isn't giving me that feeling, and I have to say that it's all to do with the departure of their larger than life singer Hank von Helvete.

Tony Sylvester is a perfectly talented singer, who had previously done great work with the Dukes Of Nothing, but he just doesn't have the sexyness that Hank brought to every song he sung. Instead Tony has a sinisterness and aggression so rather than being a party band of legendary proportions Turbonegro now sound somewhat menacing. This is not helped by the lyrics having got more violent and less jubilant than their previous offerings.Some of the tracks have the touch of greatness that avoid it being a disaster ("You Give Me Worms" being a prime example) but all over this is going to be one for the faithful.