Review Summary: Youth Gone Wild
The term “good for their age” is usually (somewhat) condescending and negative when describing young musicians, suggesting they aren’t as good as older musicians or acts, or that their age is the reason they’re popular. But if I knew one act that could solidly prove this concept wrong, it would be the hard rock band Pure Rubbish, who, at an average age of 17 years old (at the time of its release), contradict their band name and defy all expectations you might have set for them. Because they sure ain’t Kars4Kids, mate.
The
Pure Rubbish EP , the band’s only major label release (on Sharon Ozbourne’s Divine Records) contains four songs that were part of the band’s shelved 2002 debut album,
Glamorous Youth. The band is the lovechild of the Sex Pistols and Guns N’ Roses, with with a snobbery vocalist (Derek Dunvian) and punkish attitude, with the EP’s (almost ironic) 15 minutes (of fame) savouring every second with a sort of youthful naivety and rebelliousness with little space wasted. Right from the get go, with a “WAN, TOO, FREE, FAUR!”, you are thrown into the best song on the EP, the “Kiss of Death”, with a memorable chorus of “Well I’m Gone! Gone! Just Like The Kiss Of Death!”, highlighting the
Pure Rubbish EP’s strength; the band’s innate abundance of unified energy and confidence, with the band’s guitarist able to pull off tight solos (especially in “Electric Heart”) and wah-wah tricks like the scene veterans. There’s no stuttering, no angst, just energy and hard rock chaos, and all wrapped together by polished vintage-yet-modern production from Mike Clink (yeah, you heard me; the guy who produced Appetite for Destruction) helping keep the music fresh yet familiar, but never dated, and ready for the arenas. The EP’s final song is a semi-thrashy cover of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock”; while not as unhinged, groovy and raw-feeling as the original song, the cover is pretty faithfully played, even though it lacks some of the charisma of the original song and highlights the vocal limitations with Derek Dunvian, (which throughout the EP could do with some work).
By the time the EP ends, you’ll be hungry for more of Pure Rubbish, and then will be left ultimately disappointed upon realising you can’t find the
Glamorous Youth album, or much of the band’s other material, easily accessible elsewhere. But for what it is, the EP sure is a great time; I guess what they say is true, time flies when you’re having fun. It’s not exactly the most revolutionary EP (sic) in existence, but it’s pretty f--ing good at starting a revolution. The greatest takeaway from this EP is that this is a band, still in an embryonic state with some improvements required (vocally/lyrically, to an extent), that had an extreme amount of potential for success, especially in the time of its release (the early 2000’s heavy metal/glam punk resurgence with Jet and The Darkness). Ultimately, this never came to be; which is sorely disappointing, but you know what? Who actually cares? For that which used to rock, I salute you; in a time where Ozzfest 2001 was made up of lame nu-metal bands, Pure Rubbish proved that yes, you can actually have fun instead of commiserating all the time.
And you bet, once I find a way to listen to the entire
Glamorous Youth record, I'll be reviewing it.
4/5
----------
(P.S. if anyone actually knows how else i can listen to Glamorous Youth, please, tell me)
