Scum rockers [a]Groop Dogdrill[/a] built their image on the greasy, trailer-park look – all chain wallets, stetson hats and songs about rodeos. Pity they were from Doncaster.
Now the boys have ditched the faux-Yank stylings for a more down-at-heel, ‘mature’ look. Even the album’s cover is less like a [a]Rocket From The Crypt[/a] sleeve and more like an ad for Boxfresh clothes, and great, the record’s all about sex too.
Thankfully, the Dogdrill boys can still rock out, and they do so to impressive effect on punkabilly seek-and-destroy scorchers like album opener ‘Simian Kind’, ‘Low Sperm Count’ and the Bad Seeds swagger of ‘Speak & Spell’. It also sounds like Motvrhead, Jesus Lizard and Drive Like Jehu were in on some of the sessions.
[a]Groop Dogdrill[/a]’s problem lies in their desire to ‘write proper tunes’ with breathy verses and grungelite choruses. On tracks like ‘Head Of Safety’ we find the boys dumbing down their furious rock panache with Feeder-esque whimperings. It’s a shame, because Ver ‘Drill are still one of Britain’s most visceral rock bands. At least the wimpy bits are few and far between and while this isn’t a fantastic record, ‘Every Six Seconds’ still manages to deprave and corrupt at every opportunity. Ideal for teenage psychopaths everywhere.