Archie and The Bunkers
Archie and the Bunkers

THE REVIEW

«All in the Family» is a hugely successful television series in the United States, aired from 1971 to 1983, which also landed in Italy on some very shabby local TV stations, with the title «Arcibaldo»: its protagonist is Archie Bunker, a white, racist, narrow-minded, ignorant person, overweight and eternally sunken in his armchair.

Emmett is fifteen years old and plays the drums.

Cullen is seventeen years old and plays the organ, but previously played the bass.

They are the O’Connor brothers.

They were born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.

They never went to school, they are educated by their parents.

They love music.

Say Cleveland, and dozens of seminal bands for the punk and new wave scene come to mind.

So you would expect Emmett and Cullen to draw inspiration from there.

Yes and no.

Emmett cites among his influences Johnny Cash, Martin Denny, Jim Morrison, Max Roach, Jon Spencer, as well as proto-punk and punk rock.

Cullen unexpectedly throws in Jimmy Smith and Procol Harum, accompanied by the usual Damned and Cramps.

Well, they form a group together, just the two of them; because their friends understand little or nothing about real music.

They adopt the name Archie and The Bunkers, even though they are both millennials and that series disappeared almost twenty years before they were born; likely that even their parents have never seen it, perhaps their grandparents.

As to why, they remain evasive: «We came up with this name one day while we were sitting at the table for lunch», perhaps after watching a rerun of an episode broadcast by some satellite television, between breaking news and reality shows.

The line-up consists of drums and organ.

So far, dozens and dozens of guitar-drums combos had been seen, starting with the first remarkable White Stripes, to increasingly less remarkable epigone-clones.

An organ-drums combo had never been seen.

On the faded pages of Cleveland fanzines, a new genre begins to slowly carve out a space, organ-punk, and it's a great thing.

Like the Damned jamming with the Screamers.

Because there’s also something to say about the image of these kids, and Cullen in particular, who, with his spiked orange hair and sunglasses, is the spitting image of Captain Sensible.

This too is truly a great thing.

The first concert appearances, without any shyness.

The first demos.

The first contacts with bands from outside; Detroit Cobras and Blaire Alise & The Bombshells are the fundamental ones, a gateway to Jim Diamond and the Ghetto Recorders, underground stories of absolute significance.

At the end of 2015, their self-titled album is released, the last to be recorded at the Ghetto Recorders, which closed its doors just after the sessions were finished.

There are twelve tracks inside, six per side.

Side A is the bluesy, dark and muddy one, although there are properly rock blasts as in «You’re the Victim» and «Different Track»: the Doors-like side, if you want to return to Emmett's cited influences.

Side B is the rock 'n' roll explosion, the damned side to put it in Cullen's words, and tracks like «Miss Taylor», «I Wish I Could», «Trade Winds» and «The Last Stooge» allow no rebuttal, you pogo and headbang without asking too many questions.

In June, Emmett and Cullen will close their notebooks and put pens and pencils back in their cases.

They will jump on the first transcontinental flight and land in Italy.

See you in Salsomaggiore, kids.

See you in Salsomaggiore, organ-punk followers.