I do find it a bit difficult to review this record.
Not that the music is so strange or odd that I don't know what to make of it, but because I saw this band live only recently and that experience was not exactly one of the highlights of this year's concert season.
The album “Fight Back“ on the other hand sounds different, much better than the band was live.
The sound of the record is powerful and the melodies of the band from Newport in Wales are consistently catchy. STRAWBERRY BLONDES remind me of Frontkick or Radio Dead Ones with their sound. Solid '77 punk rock with street punk and kick-ass rock influences.
It really hits hard and leaves a good impression while listening. The band also manages to write lyrics that are more than just empty phrases.
So it could be a really good punk rock record from the island.
Yes, if it weren't for two things. On the one hand, the trumpet that is supposed to add some extra drive to certain songs, but is really nothing more than a bit of nice cosmetics on a weathered face. You can do it, but you don't have to. On the other hand, there's song number 8 titled “007 / Rudi“. This hides a cover version, or rather a violation of the song “A Message to You“ by The Specials. The song is so poorly, tastelessly, and uninspired covered that I always have to run to the system to skip it. Otherwise, I would feel sick.
So overall, the album cannot score fully. When I also think of the live performance on 06.02.2010 at S.O. 36 in Berlin, a wave of negative energy comes up, but even if I set that aside, the album cannot fully hit home.
