ALBUM REVIEW: The Lazys Bring on the Tropical Hazards With an Amazing Album

26th November 2018 admin

There’s this Swiss movie I saw the other day called Mad Foxes. It’s about this yuppie prick kid whose girlfriend gets gangbanged by a bunch of neo-Nazi bikers, so he decides to recruit a bunch of disco Kung Fu dudes to get revenge. Krokus did the soundtrack. But they should really have got The Lazys to do it instead.

This is authentic balls-out stuff, a maple syrup soaked throbbing kangaroo tail sized slab of back-alley punk ‘n’ roll fronted by world-class belter Leon Harrison, who sounds like the snarly son of Bon Scott.

Formed in 2006, the Lazys have been paying their dues in true rock and roll style all over Australia for many years now. Having relocated to Canada they have released an album which follows up on their 2015 Canadian Top 10 singles ‘Shake It Like You Mean It’ and ‘Black Rebel’.

Ten-tracker Tropical Hazards, produced by D’Sa (Billy Talent) and Eric Ratz ( Danko Jones) and released through Golden Robot Records is a fist-throwing roar of velvety, hook-heavy sleaze born in Australia but forged in Canada. This, their second full-length album, is spectacularly confident. A serious mansize dose of swaggering Aussie snot and talented glossy punk with acrobatic guitar solos, aggressive riff-o-rama and gangland choruses. With feel-good anthems about wild nights, pretty girls and heartbreak you can tell that if The Lazys ever get the chance to stay in a swank hotel, they are immediately going to toss the TV out the window and then order caviar just to throw at each other.

The Lazys are obviously founded on the sound of their Australian forebearers AC/DC but to their credit they have opted out of the one-dimensional hard-pounding and chosen to strut their own stuff and, well, these are probably the hit songs Angus Young and Axl Rose wish they were still able to write. They remind me of the late 80s when the likes of Motley Crue ruled the airwaves mixed with the raw energy of the Bon Scott era of AC/DC and a bit of ZZ Top esque Southern Rock.

On Tropical Hazards, The Lazys have done what only few bands have achieved. That is, to capture the raw power and energy of a band live on stage and put it on a record. In the sleaze-ridden words of the band’s lead guitarist Matty Morris. “I want people to leave thinking that was the best rock show they’ve ever seen. To leave sweaty, dirty, horny!”

I see Lear jets and celebrity rehabs in The Lazys future. And broken TVs. Lots of ‘em.

Review by Harley Gough

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES 2019

DATES:
21. Feb GE, Cologne, Blue Sheil
22. Feb GE, Osnabruck, Bastard Club
23. Feb GE, Hannover, Lux
24. Feb GE, Hamburg, Hafenklang
26. Feb GE, Berlin, Musik & Frienden
27. Feb GE, Leipzig, Naumanns
28. Feb GE, Munich, Orangehouse
01. March GE, Wurzburg Cairo
02. March AT, Vienna, Chelsea
03. March IT, Seregno, Honky Tonk
05. March CH, Zurich, Hafenkneipe
06. March FR, Paris, Backstage
08. March BE, Sint Niklaas, De Casino
09. March NL, Amsterdam, Melkweg
11. March UK, Glasgow, G2
12. March UK, Manchester, Star & Garter