Boss Tuneage (2020)
In addition to his highly renown work with Leatherface, Dickie Hammond had is fingers in quite a few other incredible bands. From HDQ to Doctor Bison, Stokoe to (Fatty) Jones, pretty much everything he touched turned to gold. The hole that remains from losing Dickie is somewhat immeasurable, but when an album like this comes along it makes things feel a little less empty.
Diaz Brothers are something of a continuation of HDQ, but when Neil Cox joined up it was insisted that it be a new band, not HDQ without Dickie. Over the course of this album's phenomenal ten tracks, the presence of Hammond looms large, but the album is stellar in its own right and is easily one of the best records I've listened to in 2020.
More than anything, I feel a kinship with the one album that The Jones released many moons ago. For a long time, I've felt that it is an overlooked part of the UK melodic punk canon, but was always one of my very favorites. Like Gravity Blues, this album's foundation is built on furious guitar riffs, interesting chord progressions and Golly's incredibly powerful vocals. This is a band firing loudly on all cylinders, but with a keen grasp on songwriting that lets them weave melodies through, without ever sacrificing the oomph.
I've said many times that my favorite ever time in music was the early to mid 90s UK scene. So many of my favorite bands came from there and so many more were influenced by that time. This Diaz Brothers record is every bit as good as the very best from that time period. Considering what a shit year 2020 has been, it's really nice to have a record this good to help get through the bad times.
Diaz Brothers - Diaz Brothers:
https://bosstuneagerecords.bandcamp.com/album/diaz-brothers
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