Art Metropole

#08913

JULY FOURTH TOILET PRESENTS BALLS BOOGIE FEATURING ME AND BOBBY MCGEE, PLUS!: KENTUCKY WHORE AND MANY OTHERS! - July Fourth Toilet,

Artist

July Fourth Toilet

Date

2008

Format

Audio

Size

31 × 31 cm

Description

“What do I say of a reprobate eight man/one woman ensemble (one man/woman, four longhairs, two ska dudes & a Mexican!) that just delivered 13 songs of extreme diversity, ranging from Death C&W to Soviet-powered Detroit Space Rock, via wonderfully excruciating mush-mouthed male-female Vow Renewals and Sober’d Up confessionals. For fans of Destroy All Monsters (all periods, kiddies), Armand Schaubroeuk Steals, the Afrika Corps, BALLS BOOGIE rescues several Long Dead musical genres from the Straights and slams them out eins, zwei, and drei, without so much as a soundcheck….. Search out this hot slab pronto, Tonto, and check out those front men while yooz at it! Ooer, missus!”

- Julian Cope

“Riding their truck through a cornucopia of styles, the oddly named July Fourth Toilet are a force to be reckoned with on theirs album “Balls Boogie”, a disc that has stoned running through its centre, clear as a stick of cannabis flavoured rock. After a ramshackle, but oddly compelling version of “Me and Bobby McGee”, the band suddenly shift into hard rock biker boogie mode, as “Hard Working Man” roars out of the speakers, a full on rock guitar solo adding to the wonder, as does a nice change of pace in the middle, bring it on and turn it up. The hard rock then continues with the heavy stomp of “Kentucky Whore”, more guitar histrionics included, as the song winds up the energy. Next up, another change of style as the sad country ballad of “Stoned on You” sparks up a fat one, seemingly the story of a man who’s woman has left him, it is a bit of a surprise to find out she is in prison for murdering someone, a nice twist that is complemented by more fine guitar playing and a solid backbeat. Following the tale of “Armwrestle John”, more heavy rock with over the top vocals and moody guitar riffs, the first side finished off with the boogie of “Name on the Door”, everything turned up nice and loud. So far so good, then you turn the album over to be greeted with “Thanks Drugs” a song that pays homage to recreational drug use, opening with the lines “Been distorting time and space again”, the ever versatile guitarist dropping into west coast mode, without missing a beat. After this things get re-wired, the band turning into early Floyd with the psychedelic jam, strange noises, twisted dementia and general sonic weirdness of the next four tracks sounding like nothing on side one, the band proving themselves adept as this side of thing as well. To end, the happiness and joy of “Cute Little Baby” is tempered by a gnawing fear of what the future may hold, ending an album that is schizophrenic, slightly paranoid, happy drunk, stoned and laughing. The makings of a good night perhaps.”

-Terrascope

Includes art and lyric booklet with art by July Fourth Toilet members and collaborators Robert Dayton, Shayne Ehman, Jason Mclean, Owen Plummer, jody franklin, etcetera…

Edition of 500

1.