Flaming Stars

These Londoners were teenage school kids when the Ramones landed in the UK and the Pistols were p*ssing off the Queen. Max Décharné said that when the band decided to cover the Buzzcocks’ classic “What Do I Get?” for one of their John Peel sessions, it was as easy as flicking a switch. Being that they’re a product of punk, it’s no surprise that they turn in a show that is wonderfully intense. These guys have attitude. And it’s genuine. Even when strings start popping and kick drum pedals are falling apart, something good remains. Keyboards straight from the nearest haunted house, a mud-spattered bassline, or Smokin’ Joe flying over his low-slung drum kit, you’ll find yourself reminded of Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, The Stranglers, Richard Hell and Iggy Pop. The Flaming Stars combine searing melodic guitar, trashy drums, and smooth crooning that’ll work you over like a good batch of martinis at an after-hours pad; they’re as well acquainted with the instro stylings of Link Wray as with the moodiness of Tom Waits. As the Village Voice (New York) says, they “... manages to conjure the Jesus and Mary Chain, ‘50s swamp rock, and nights spent guzzling cheap wine and leaning unsteadily against a jukebox...”