The Stabbing Jabs - The Stabbing Jabs

The Stabbing Jabs line-up consists of Vocalist Peter Aaron (Chrome Cranks), Guitarists William G. Weber (Chrome Cranks/GG Allin & The Murder Junkies) and Chris Donnelly (Gang Green), Drummer Andrew Jody (Barrence Whitfield & The Savages), and Bassist Jamie Morrison (Motorbike). What makes the project an even more mouthwatering prospect is the album being co-released by Reptilian Records (by Beast Records in the EU and France), a label no strangers to quality, as testified by the likes of Easy Action, The Heroine Sheiks and The Cutthroats 9.

'Broken Brain' opens with a delicious slice of punchy Nervous Breakdown era Black Flag injected with a Proto-Punk Garage-Rock spirit of which The Stooges would be proud. 'Bad Slime' is pure Rock 'n' Roll with a Grunge inspired vibe ala Mudhoney, the superfuzz bigmuff seemingly on overdrive. There are also hints of a less chaotic and slower Zeke present too, guaranteeing you an adrenaline fuelled beast of a tune. 'Drowning Girls' recalls the spirit of Circle Jerks tracks as 'When The Shit Hits the Fan' and 'Coup d'Etat', the outright obnoxiousness of the track paying homage to Keith Morris and co, while 'F-Bomb's Psych flavours deliver something a little more subtle compared to its predecessors, hard hitting but a little more controlled instead allowing the tension to build with no visible point of release. Talk about a masterclass in songwriting, which one would only expect from these hardbitten veterans.

'Radiation Love' (a play on Golden Earring's 'Radar Love'?), recalls Gang Green when they were starting to incorporate more Metallic elements into their sound. All that's missing are the massive skate ramps and Megadeth tour. 'Uptown Blues', the album's longest track at nearly five minutes is a low-down sleazy brand of Punk-Blues in the style of Laughing Hyenas, Mule and Boss Hog. In other words right up my street and an obvious favourite of yours truly. Next, the band pay homage to the Cincinnati scene of yesteryear with two covers, the first of which is The Verbs 'Little In Doubt'. Somewhat obscure the original can be found on the We Were Living In Cincinnati compilation and though unfamiliar with it, I presume it to have a Power-Pop/New Wave flavour which The Jabs do a brilliant job of 'dirtying up'.

'Bone & Breast' is a gnarly slice of Noise-Rock not totally dissimilar to what The Jesus Lizard and Killdozer might have delivered in their heyday while 'Little Lamb' embraces Punk-Blues yet again though this time by way of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Surgery. Man this thing absolutely swings, never-mind 'Wrecking Ball', this is the ideal track to twerk along to. Now is the turn of the album's other cover, Dennis The Menace's 'Go Go Wah Wah' from the 7” of the same name. The original is a spiky bit of Punky New-Wave that here is transformed into a slab of bruising AC/DC inspired Hard Rock 'n' Roll with a bluesy edge and packed with tons of energy. I'm not sure if 'You're A Drag' was recorded live but it has that 'might fall apart at any minute' sensibility similar to The Dead Boys and Crime. Its also discordant as fuck and all the better for it, making for a hell of a way to conclude the album.

Supergroups are a tricky thing to navigate, at worst they are short-lived underwhelming affairs created by bored Rockstars as a way of filling in downtime; The Travelling Willburys and Them Crooked Vultures being prime examples. Done right though they can impress and intrigue and its here where The Stabbing Jabs belong.