Gay for Johhny Depp

Gay for Johnny Depp's second album is not for rock for your mother, unless she's really fucked up. GFJD's arrangements evoke At the Drive in to my relatively uneducated ears, but with a good thick extra layer of distorted, urgent screaming, a dangerous whiff of sexual confusion and pointed evocations of self-harm. While the production, the piercingly distorted guitars, the fast and precise drums parts would place GFJD on the hardcore/mathcore shelf, their imagery, their lyrics, their universe, their clothes and hairstyle associate GFJD with more sophisticated (and generally more literate), UK rock acts. This said, lyrically as well as visually the band takes the expression of violence and sex well beyond the tasteful innuendos of your average well-mannered art rockers à la Velvet Underground (incidentally, they have the coolest song titles ever. )
There's a fundamental disequilibrium there that makes it worrying and fascinating at the same time, like that good friend of yours who's just come back from 2 years at a psychiatric hospital and is officially cured. Of course you can take him to your girlfriend's birthday party...

Here and there, the band hints at a more melodic, more 'sung' kind of punk rock but they quickly chastise themselves for such indulgences. I can't say I wouldn't like to hear more of that, but as it is I'm impressed.

You can catch GFJD live in the UK, tour dates are given on their Myspace.