Wingmen is another lockdown supergroup who came together and recorded this album during there down time from normal touring musical life. The Wingmen in question are Leigh Heggarty, Paul Gray, Baz Warne and Marty Love who wrote recorded and produced this album without ever actually meeting up in the real world. The Four Wingmen of this musical apocalypse have played in among other bands Ruts DC, The Stranglers, Johnny Moped and The Damned.
The album opens appropriately with Starting Blocks as they are off the blocks, running down that punk rock highway again, with a Stranglers style keyboard undertow, played like the opening band intro as you wait for the singer to arrive on stage.
The Last Cigarette isn't the Dramarama classic, but a burnished blues punk song for someone who really hopes he's finally kicked that tobacco habit. The twin guitars attack like they are on the first Spiders From Mars album after Bowie left them.
Louis Smoked The Bible as he really was looking for new thrills, this is slow poignant tale of addiction as insistent as the riff, as you hope to switch your drug habit for a god habit, like some modern day Nick Cave, as the brass section comes in, along with a long estuary blues guitar line.
Brits careens across the speakers like an out of control car, as they have a pop at all the complaining and moaning us Brits do, with the vocals sounding very dour Stranglers style, nothing is ever good enough, they list all of the things we complain about including tea and coffee.
I Would If I Could looks at how the world is ordered and how the poor get shafted as usual, over late 70's flavored punky rock, whatever you do don't get ill in this world, unless your rich, the harmony backing vocals give this more of an AOR feel in places, but the lyrics are spot on Nye Bevan must be turning in his grave.
Down In The Hole builds around another Stranglers style keyboard riff, as they try to come up for air, escape from the depths of despair as the guitars seem to be climbing up the frets and back to the surface once more.
Mary Go Round is talk sung tale of a life going to hell, as we find out what happens to Mary, this swirls and swirls as they try to get through to Mary to help her get back to safety, sanity or whatever destination they seek to slowly arrive at with Mary.
Oh! What A Carry on takes a good look at the idiocy of all the lovers of the British Empire and Brexit, what the more deluded nationalists wanted from that cataclysmically stupid event, the brass works well on this, as we all wonder how we ever ended up here, just don't bring back the empire.
Backstage At The Opera is a full on backstage argument over who gets what from the rider, or the groupies, as well as asking why we believe rumors online, rather than science. As they search for the perfect guitar runs to prove the bands points.
The album closes with It's Raining All Over England one last slow thoughtful song about the state of our nation as it fell apart during the pandemic, if it wasn't falling apart for years beforehand, this has dark imagery making you wonder who exactly they are pointing fingers at, but of course they finish with a rousing chorus or two of Happy Days Are Here Again, the breathy vocals making sure you know how far from happy the Wingmen are.
Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/90670393432/user/100065408414440/ https://viveleshop.com/collections/all/products/wingmen-wingmen-cd-lp-formats?variant=39977465282615
The bands first uk tour starts this week in January
18th Colchester Arts Centre
20th Milton Keynes Crauford Arms
21st London Islington Academy
22nd Bristol The Fleece
24th Newcastle The Cluny
25th Leeds Old Woollen Mill
26th Liverpool Academy 2
28th Birmingham Academy 2
29th Brighton Concorde 2
