RIXE

This newish three song promo tape is Rixe's best stuff yet. Addictive, infectiously hooky Oi! from this crew of left-wing Parisian skins. I'm gutted that I missed getting a ticket to their Melbourne show with Total Control (sold out in minutes), but I'll definitely be venturing out on a Wednesday night to see them here in early May.

RIXE

VANITY - Vain in Life

On their new album - Don't Be Shy - Vanity have made a sharp left turn from Oi! into hard rock/glam territory, and I applaud them for busting out of the genre-rut to try new things (in their exploration of old things). That said, although the new album makes for a nice enough listen (and may grow on me yet), it can't touch the rough-and-ready melodic street rock perfection of their first LP, Vain in Life. That album's mix of Evan Radigan's gruff and clean vocals, and its non-stop barrage of simple-but-infectious guitar hooks has made it a real stayer around my house. Read a cool interview with the boys here, where among other things they talk about getting into music without having to adhere to that subculture's inbuilt ideologies or image trends, something that I've long held to be one of the punk scene's biggest failings.

Now, while we're on the subject of this crew of NYC miscreants, where's my Ajax full-length?

OFF YA GO