Erazerhead

While the description "an English version of the Ramones" can be applied to many (if not all) of the UK punk groups that sprung up in the late seventies, none are quite so befitting of the label than Erazerhead, an east-end band of rock 'n' rollers who released seven singles and two albums, yet remain relatively obscure. As an 80's band playing straight-up three-chord noise-pop, with their roots clearly in the cartoony side of the CBGB scene, and the 50s rock 'n' roll that fed into it, it's easy to see why they didn't achieve much success. By this time such simplistic noisy pop was somewhat passe, with only a hardcore punk fanbase still interested. Three chords had been done to death, and audiences wanted something more intelligent, like the burgeoning post-punk scene. Only purist punk rockers would have taken notice, as the pop world around them began to rebuild itself. Music was judged in a very different light in the post punk period, and demands were made on it of authenticity, credibility and originality. Bands now needed to prove themselves by creating music that brought something new to the table. The Rezillos, for example, who wore their schlock sci-fi influences on their sleeves nonetheless had a fresh sound and character that was all their own. The same can not really be said of Erazerhead, whose sub-ramones output, by this time rather dated, made only minor dents in the indie charts.

Even basic punk rock had moved on to some extent, getting harder-edged, heavier, or politically charged. Erazerhead were a band out of time. Had they been active about three years earlier, they would probably have done quite well, and been memorable and mentionable in the same breath as The Vibrators and The Lurkers. As it was though, they just didn't fit in. Their closest contemporaries were probably the bands that made up the Psychobilly scene. The back-to-basics (some might say retrograde) sensibilities, and B-movie obsessions of such sped-up rockabilly bands as The Meteors and The Guana Bats are similar to those of Erazerhead. Indeed, the band played at least one show at the famous Klub Foot, and their art-work and lyrics fit nicely with the horror-movie fandom of the scene.

All this negativity however can not detract from the fact that their Best of... compilation, released by those good chaps at Captain Oi!, is simply a damn good listening experience of good old fashioned fun-time rock 'n' roll. They may just be a cockney Ramones, but when all's said and done, they make a mighty fine racket of balls-to-the-wall punk rock, that deserves to be played at full volume while you pogo 'til your knees bleed. Punk rock losers maybe, but then wasn't that the point? The important thing is, like so many of their contemporaries, these guys got together and did it themselves; they formed a band and threw themselves headlong into providing fans with good-time, get-pissed-and-party anthems. And for that they deserve praise indeed. All together now..."Rock, rock, rock 'n' roll zombie... I wanna be a rock 'n' roll zombie!"
Check 'em out now at:
http://www.erazerhead.co.uk/
Track picks: Werewolf, She Can Dance, Shell Shock, Moscow, Do the Geek, Rock 'n' Roll Zombie.
You can hear none of these songs, but many perfectly decent others at a myspace page dedicated to them here.