Royal Headache-July 2010 Tour CS (2010)

Well, if you haven't heard of Royal Headache by now you probably hate rock 'n' roll, and may also have no soul. Civilians (i.e. the rest of the world) have gotten real into these guys in the last two years, and I wish 'em all the best. This 2010 set, recorded on tour in Newcastle and Brisbane, contains 6 tracks that would make it onto the self-titled 2011 LP and one that didn't, "Little Star."

It opens with a scratchy, infectious guitar riff before the band blasts into its trademark sound: sharp, snazzy punk with Australia's answer to O.V. Wright on vocals. I wish they included it on the LP, since it's as passionate and frantic as every other song I've heard by RH. The rest of the set rushes by, with some of Shogun's witty repartee v. hecklers: the songs aren't as polished as they are on the LP, but they sound just as good blurry as they did with slick(er) production. The recording quality isn't all that clear, but it's still pretty damn good for a basement or bar show.

Basically, if you love Royal Headache, this will tide you over until they drop a new record. I hope that's very soon, since my friends are getting tired of me hyping this band.

"I know that you don't want me, baby...." The tape is long out of print, but the band just re-pressed the LP, so go buy that from them at bandcamp or via their own website.  In full disclosure, I stole this one from I Am the Least Machiavellian blog, which you should be following if you aren't already.