Album Review: Peter Pan Speedrock “Buckle Up and Shove It!”
I believe that record reviews are the collective response of the author’s objective opinion and taste in music in general, combined, however, with some undisputed facts; so here goes: Rock and Roll Dutch super group Peter Pan Speedrock witnessed their latest LP “Buckle Up and Shove It!” being released through Self Destructo Records in North America on April 14th of 2015.
TRACKLISTING
Get You High
Whatever Man
Murdertruck
Tunnelvision
Bad Thing
Loose Women and Loud Guitars
New Rose
Note to Self
Wide-eyed and Thirsty
Buckle Up and Shove It
Deadringer
Doin the Nasty
Heart Full of Soul
Even though I am not that old, I can clearly distinguish the period in time when rock and roll was purely about dancing and about pretty girls in long skirts, from the period in time when it shifted to what it still is about to this day; guitar driven music, sex and recreational drug use. As lame as it sounds and despite the fact that I have listened to a lot more contemporary rock and roll bands, I am still a fan of the older version of rock and roll music. Peter Pan Speedrock and their eleventh full length, Buckle Up and Shove It!, fall into the latter category of a punker -attitude wise- type of rock and roll.
The band hails from Eindhoven, Holland, started playing in the late nineties and has become sort of a landmark for what is considered to be contemporary rock and roll in Europe, to say the least. Relentless touring all over the globe with bands like Zeke, Turbonegro and Nashville Pussy, hosting one of Europe’s biggest rock and roll Fests -Speedfest- in their hometown for many years now and releasing tons of material for almost two decades gives them the aforementioned credit. I’ve even had the pleasure of seeing them live in my hometown, which certainly was a treat for my city’s standards. The band is well known for its furious energy on stage, the loudness of the show and, in general, a guaranteed good time.
That being said, I’m not a huge Peter Pan Speedrock fan, especially when it comes to the recorded material and Buckle Up and Shove It! is no excuse. The record is a hectic guitar driven engine -you can hardly hear the bass- and every song sounds almost like a cross between Motorhead and AC/DC, mixed with some occasional Zeke and Cramps touches. That sounds pretty appealing and it really is to some extent, but the thing is I like my music to have structure beyond one guitar riff for each song, so, after listening closely to Buckle Up and Shove It!, I can only go so far with relating to the record.
The lyrics aren’t doing it for me either. Half the songs are about women “hitting me hard and straight between the thighs” and the rest are about fast cars, loud guitars and getting shitfaced. Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid.
I had a good time at their show and would probably go see them perform again, if given the chance, since a few beers and the relentless energy of the trio seem to do it for me live, but would not keep putting their record on at home. Buckle Up and Shove It! has some stand out tracks like Whatever Man, New Rose, Note to Self and, my personal favorite geniously titled, Heart Full of Soul and gives the listener a taste of what you can expect from the band live. That is reason enough to own this record.
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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