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The rise (and continued rise) of Amyl and the Sniffers has put edgy, punky rock n’ roll back out there into the stratosphere, which can only be a good thing. Not too sure, though, what some of the gatekeepers will make of the band when Amyl opens for AC/DC in Australia next month, but once the blinkers come off, they might just find themselves having a good time. The tendency with the mainstream media is to focus on the act that punched through the ceiling, and ignore all those that came before them. Which, in the case of Norwegian punkstress Ida Maria, is the mainstream media’s loss.
Hugely experienced, Ida Maria has been plying her trade for decades now (even appearing on Later With Jools Holland in 2008) and has built up an enviable body of work. She should be a household name on the scene, packing them in night after night. The quality of her output outweighs so many others. ‘I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked’ hinted at a breakthrough decades ago, but for whatever reason, that breakthrough never fully materialised. ‘Envy’, the opening track on Ida’s exceptional new album ‘Seven Deadly Sins + 3’, spits out “You don’t want me at the table/Where the big boys eat” in a vitriloic manner at some nameless, faceless antagonist while a few moments later Ida enthuses “I keep looking for compassion/Almost everywhere I go/I’ve been working on my freedom/’Cause this is all I know”. Both barrels unleashed.
The charm of ‘Seven Deadly Sins + 3’ is the variety to be found within the 10 tracks, loosely based around the seven deadly sins, with a few extras tacked on for good measure: hence the album title.
Anything punky rock n’ roll is almost always played at that “1-2-3-4” breakneck speed, and there are moments like that on this, Ida’s first full new album in nine years. ‘Lazy’ and ‘Melancholia’, for instance, are anything but that. The former begins with what could be a nod to the Beatles classic ‘Helter Skelter’, it soon settles into a pulsing, swirling, head-fuck of a track that packs a sense of urgency as well as some massive hooks. Ida’s vocals are full of life and contain an insane amount of genuine power, rather than the watered-down version of what passes for “punk rock” today (total sidebar: remember when the 1975 went “punk” on a single?…Jesus. Suffering. Fuck.). The latter is nuts. Pure gonzo nuts. The bass licks from Ruben Fredheim Oma are Lemmy-esque in stature and please secure all loose dental work before cranking this sucker up. The pronunciation of ‘Melancholia’ from Ida is alone worthy of the price of admission, as is that lengthy scream that lands before the band (completed by drummer Alf Magne Hillestad) settles into a trippy jam as the song grows.
‘Envy’ highlights that variety mentioned earlier. Fuelled by a fantastic, shimmering, Duane Eddy-meets-Tarantino guitar tone from Jan Ole Kristensen, it’s dust-filled with a great chance of pace mid-song, and yeah, it’s kinda damn special. ‘I Pushed Too Hard’ is Detroit garage rock ‘n’ roll with a cool rehearsal room vibe that makes it sound like it was cooked up on the spot. The whole album feels that way. It’s a fantastic palate-cleanser when encountering the over-produced, high-sheen product that the conveyor belt spits out daily. In someone else’s hands, ‘Lust’ and ‘More’ could have ended up bland and over-commercialised, but here both are poppy and catchy, as well as having a bite to them. ‘More’, in particular, has a groove not dissimilar to 80s new wave titans The Waitresses. And, “There was a time when I let down even my own grandmother/Nowadays, I make my bed and fold my clothes like you wouldn’t believe”, has to be the standout lyric of the album.
Add utter belters such as ‘Pride’, ‘Pussy and Money’, and the Stonesy ‘Still Angry’ into the equation, and ‘Seven Deadly Sins + 3’ is pretty much perfect. File under “Essential listening”.
Available now via Indie Recordings. More information, HERE.
Connect with Ida Maria on social media, HERE.
Review – Dave
Photo credit – Per Heimly
