THE BLACK HALOS
The Violent Years
Sub Pop
· Second full-length album from hard-working, prolific Vancouver quintet.
There's something about The Black Halos that makes you suspect you are watching a band fueled solely by dreams about CBGB's punk glory days. Still, The Black Halos do an impressive job of convincing you that they were born to play the same music that made the youth of the '60s and '70s go apeshit. More importantly, defiant lead vocalist Billy Hopeless is simply transfixing. With a weathered, late-night N.Y.C. drawl, he growls out High Fidelity commentary about the "vinyl veterans" who sit ignored on the floor of a record store like the prettiest girl sitting dejectedly on a bench at a school dance. He sings, "In the clubs the disco's still pumping / On the floor the kids are all humping / But I can't help but shed a tear / When Little Richard screams." Additionally fueled by the fiery fury of four serious rockers, The Black Halos leave the other poseurs with their faces squished up against the glass, looking in. The Violent Years is a concert-to-go in a slender, plastic case and is a fine taste of rock 'n' roll mayhem.
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