ViperSuzas ‘Tongue And Groove’

‘As you can see from the band photo we don’t really buy into the whole image thing. Pixies didn’t, Sebadoh didn’t, and we sure as hell ain’t gonna lose no sleep over how pointy our shoes are.’

You got to love a band who set our their stall like that, really. Biff and Jim, they are. Here’s what I know. They hail from some arse end of nowhere, probably south east England, Sussex way I think. Probably not important. Biff plays drums, Jim plays guitar and sings. Jim’s got one of those splitters so he can plug his guitar through a bass amp too. No bass player required, see. But they make enough rock for three. Or four. Or five.

There’s a great biog (see link below) crafted by former Maker hack Push, where you can find out more. It’s rare to find this sort of info these days, which is a shame. Like we’ve said over and over, it never hurts to give people a peg to hang their coat on. Most bands just expect people to chuck their coats on the floor these days, which is a shame.

Yes, yes, digress, but what’s new eh? It’s great to know there are still bands left who do what they do best (the music bit) and gather people around them to do what they do best (ask a writer to write, you know). They’ve a fine looking website too that was probably built by a pal who’s good at those sort of things.

More than anything, it’s refreshing to find a band who not only understand the power of the internet, but understand they don’t have to do it all themselves. Can’t. Don’t have to.

There’s much to like about ViperSuzas. And that’s before you’ve even heard a note.

The music, then. Yes, lazy people say it’s like the White Stripes. Well, there is too of them. Thing is, White Stripes sounds like two people. ViperSuzas sound like a gang of roofers ponding away up top until the roof falls in, but in 4/4 time. They sound like an express train grand prix through your front room. Like a batallion on the charge in the Battle Of The Bulge. Like guns and bombs. Sorry, came over all Cranberries there.

They are carved from the same plank as bands who knew how to be bands. Husker Du, Tad, Magazine, The Ramones. check the list of influences and the names are all there, Neil Young, QOTSA… and then they toss in Cable – Derby band who deserved more. Split up in the late Nineties after being half-flogged to death in search of ‘commercial success’. Truely excellent, a terrible waste. The Cable memory jog reminded me of the likes of Groop Dog Drill, Submarine (who became Jetboy DC), Union Kid, A… all bands who knew what guitars were really for and stuff the rest of it.

You’ve got to be happy when you discover a band this good. Be happy.

More hear…
- There’s a single ‘Long Way Back’ and eponymous six-track mini album… getting hold of them is a whole other matter.
- A rummage has also turned up a limited edition promo EP featuring four tracks it’s a snip at £3.50. A wise investment even.
- Back in August they proclaimed they’d record an album in a day, 12 tracks, 24 hours, called ‘Blunt Chisel’ they’d chop it out on CD for a crisp fiver… Last Friday, October 9, they admitted 12 was a bit ambitious, but five were in the can and sounding almighty. Can’t wait.
- A real, proper website… a MySpace
- Read some well-written words about them here