Many musicians get into Rock'n'Roll for the fringe benefits, whether it's for the hanging by the pool in LA or for the hot and cold running girls after the show. But there's also that rare percentage who are simply born to be on stage and indeed it would be impossible to imagine them any other way. People like Iggy Pop and Lemmy come into this hallowed latter category: survivors who have lived it all, defied the worst and are still here and relevant despite everything. They are anti-nature and we are truly blessed by their very existence.
Another member of this select club is surely one Rob Younger. Not heard of him? Well you fuckin' need to if you wanna live and breathe Rock'n'Roll. Hell, he's fronted and still fronts TWO legendary Australian bands, never mind one. You've probably heard of his other group, Radio Birdman, but quite possibly don't know his second outfit, the incendiary and utterly magnificent NEW CHRISTS.
Admittedly, the Christs are aptly named. Owing to Rob's commitments with both Radio Birdman, producing and God knows what else, they have that 'second coming' malarkey off pat and have a tendency to come around only every five years or so with rip-roaring new product. 'Gloria' (actually only their fourth LP 'proper' in nearly three decades of on-off activity) is no exception to the rule, arriving after a Stereo MC's-style gap of seven years from 2002's superb 'We Got This!'
The lack of momentum would hobble lesser bands, yet like a more benevolent, Antipodean Mark. E. Smith, Rob Younger seems to relish bringing in new players and moulding them in the none-more-Rock'n'Roll image of The New Christs. Admittedly, the current Christs line-up has a foot in both the past and the future, as rhythm section Jim Dickson and Stu Wilson have previously served time with the band, while dynamite guitar duo Dave Kettley and Brent Williams (who also adds a lot of subtle, textural keyboards) are newer incumbents who have clearly been drilled to perfection by the master.
This new line-up is a dense, malevolent beast, and perhaps the very best New Christs yet. As with 'We Got This!', they alchemise a sound from the finest quality Punk and Hard Rock elements available and sprinkle on a few flecks of Psychedelia. In recent years, the only other group I've heard do this kind of thing so impressively is The Screaming Trees, but The New Christs do their hard, heavy and melodic thing so well that they are simply in a class of their own these days.
Unlike 'We Got This!', which opened with the juggernaut-sized ramalama of the title track, 'Gloria' opens with the eerie, slow burning magnificence of 'Try Something', although the guitars are already set on stun come the chorus. It's epic stuff and the first of several places where Rob and co. are keen to stretch. To this end, we get tracks like 'The Wheel' – heavy, looming and oppressive with prowling riffs and a soupcon of early Sabbath and Vanilla Fudge – and the controlled cascade of guitars driving the glorious 'Daddy's Calling'. Perhaps the most surprising of all is 'Psych Nurse' which boasts a supple groove and (whisper it) tumbling piano. Not what you might expect from a New Christs record, I know, but tailored to their needs to perfection.
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Naturally, though, The New Christs' most essential urge is to Rock with a sublime vengeance, and this they do to tremendous effect, not least on the hard-hitting, heat-seeking likes of songs such as 'My Existence', the quintessentially snotty 'On All Fours' and the irresistible 'Impossible Now' where the guitars shoot from the hip and even the normally nihilistic and world-weary Younger is moved to offer some “yeah yeah yeah!”s to egg the troops on.
Then again, for all their heaviosity, The New Christs have always embraced corking tunes too, so it's fitting that they save perhaps their richest, poppiest new offering for the grand finale. The song in question, 'Bonsoir a Vous' not only has an absolute honey of a tune, but it also gives us the opportunity to hear Rob singing (a little) French in that immediately recognisable gruff Sydney twang of his. He takes it in his stride, of course, and the band take it proudly to the tape, confident that they have yet again upped the ante where this amazing, but frustratingly lesser heard band are concerned.
We often theorise about how the best English and American bands play off, influence and work to outdo each other, but for sheer Rock'n'Roll abandon, it's hard to beat the glorious rackets worked up by our Australian cousins over the years. Ultimately, how can you NOT take your hat off to a Continent that has produced the white-hot sonic abandon of groups as cool as Radio Birdman, The Hoodoo Gurus, Lime Spiders and Celibate Rifles?
Rhetorical question I know, yet for this writer, the Daddy of them all are this bunch and – true to form - 'Gloria' marks yet another sensational return from the wilderness. Grab the loaves and fishes and get ready to rejoice: The New Christs are walking on water once again.
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