Eddie & The Hot Rods
Teenage Depression

THE REVIEW

My arm is burned by the cold, I accidentally put "Teenage Depression" into the car stereo and couldn't help but act like a show-off pretending to drive along Route 66 with a souped-up convertible. Too bad it was only three degrees above zero and my car is just a wreck with bald tires and a broken windshield wiper.

But in the end, I'm just saying a convenient load of crap, considering that this band has nothing to do with the U.S.A., these guys are English (from Rochford) and boast a good significance in the rock-punk scene of the seventies, the Sex Pistols might know something about it...

Oh God, I blurted out the term "punk" so recklessly, after all, punk can be anything, from the kids playing at the city's social center to my grandma picking up the mail in her pajamas and windbreaker, Eddie & The Hot Rods have a punk attitude, a punkish message (I know it might be strange to say, but very street-punk) and a generally rock 'n roll music, but at the same time, I could say that these guys play and act like dirty rockers, period, mixing so many genres and sub-genres makes my blood boil.

Press play and "Get Across To You" puts me in the right spirit to face the day, guitars executing nasty rock and instruments that tastefully accompany the vocal lines. No strange musical concept other than to urge the crowd with a thunderous sound, subtle dramatic lines and touching electric discharges. The guys are outcasts needing attention, they no longer know what they want, all are heading towards self-destruction... I'm not recounting village clichés, but what was felt in the air and what Eddie & the Hot Rods wanted to make you believe to some extent. Depression, anger and escape, the electric guitar and the gray pubs frequented by drunks. All accompanied by rhythms that don't let you stay still, you have to move your legs and eventually dance in the face of all this mess.

The album is loaded with great tracks: "Teenage Depression", "Double Checkin Woman" or "Why Can't It Be Me?" these are just the first three standout tracks that come to mind, it's needless to say I wouldn't throw anything away from this record. Equally unnecessary to say I would recommend it to anyone.

I now find out that Eddie & the Hot Rods play a genre called "Pub rock" I don't know why but I keep calling it simply Rock 'n roll...