Cheats; The: Pussyfootin!

The third album from Pittsburgh's The Cheats, Pussyfootin!, is a fantastic, shit kicking amalgam of styles, all rolled together to stick two fingers up at anyone that cares to get in its way. Fusing rockabilly, punk, metal and pop together, this is an album with no heirs and graces, nor does it have delusions of grandeur, instead, The Cheats have created something that will stomp all over your clean carpet, barf on your floor, before breaking your furniture, as all the while you grin along with a glint in your eye.

Imagine putting The Ramones, The Wildhearts, The Almighty, The Sex Pistols and The Hayseed Dixie (sorry got carried away with my "The's" there) into a room with only one crate of beer, locking the door and watching as all breaks loose in the mad fight for the last few brews and you'll be some way to understanding the raucous, rip-roaring, rebellion that The Cheats serve up. At every turn a metal anthem strikes up, just as a snotty punk romp jostles with a rockabilly riot, leaving every song somewhere between all three in a surprisingly satisfying swathe of sweat and spit. In fact anyone who likes their rock (of whatever brand) to kick up a storm, be bristling with catchy hooks and chock full of fuck you attitude is going to absolutely love Pussyfootin!. Although when you take into consideration that the band's frontman Todd Porter has fronted acts as diverse as Silver Tongued Devil, and all out thrashers Eviction, then The Cheats genre blurring bashings should come as small shock. Porter himself comes across in a similar manner to Almighty (and current Thin Lizzy) frontman Ricky Warwick, with a gristly rasp belying an amazingly infectious shout along style that proves impossible to resist.

As with all of the best carefree, good time rock, the real strength behind Pussyfootin! comes from the fact that the guys involved can seriously cut it and while the impression intended to be given, is that of rebels smashing out throwaway tunes. The truth is that there can be no doubt that these songs have been slaved over to sound as intentionally ragged and dangerous as they do. In the wrong hands, these fist punchin', foot stompin' tracks would be a disaster. However The Cheats manage to make them into something as vital as they are vicious - a neat and rare trick.

These Cheats sure ain't Pussyfootin! around with this foot in the face album. But even when your teeth start rattling to the floor, there's no doubt that your newly gapped grin will remain from ear to ear. Any album that can make you feel so right about feeling so wrong has to be a compulsory purchase. Or banned for the good of your health!

Track Listing
1. Make You Pay
2. Sin For A Living
3. White Knuckle Ride
4. Better Than The Rest
5. Broken Creeper
6. Life's Short
7. Mystery 37
8. Sober Days, Wasted Nights
9. Gotta Get Away
10. So Long Sucker
11. Pissin' It All Away
12. I Don't Need You
13. Star Tattoo

Added: August 25th 2012
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Screaming Crow PR
Hits: 1731
Language: english

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