GEEZERS OF NAZARETH (arf!) are two blokes from Hemel Hempstead called Barnaby Reynolds and Anthony Meehan who once went to school with Vinny Jones' family and previously assaulted our synapses with that daft tune "Sunglasses" (remember? the one that went "Sunglasses! Coconut Oil!") all of two long years back.
"Gold Rush", though, proves that wasn't just a fluke novelty record and that ver Geezers aren't just a 21st Century version of The Piranhas, but possibly a typically offeat English duo who might be in this for the long run.
"Gold Rush" proffers a slightly retro, 80s sound with buzzing bass synth underpinning a headrush of a tune and Barnaby's vocals skirting around falsetto frequencies. It's actually surprisingly soulful, with elements of classic English pop in a slightly laddish, Dodgy-meet-Langer-and-Winstanley kinda way. Significantly, it's also got a piledriving chorus that has 'heavy rotation' stamped all over it. And a bonzer trombone break. So there.
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Also included is the slightly potty, tender'n'tough "Hard Bloke", which is constructed around the kind of niggly guitar figure The Police's Andy Summers could once have written in his sleep. Meehan and Reynolds clearly love their white boy reggae and this daft lope is a prime slice of spaced-out ska with knobs (and serenade trumpets) on. Gauche as hell, but great, undeniable fun all round.
About as credible as a Hawaiian shirt convention in Bognor, Geezers Of Nazareth are nonetheless a band you'll quietly enjoy to bits on the side. Roll up a seven skinner and wallow.
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