By DJ Monk
Señor No may be a name familiar to some longstanding ÜR readers, as they have been leaders of the Basque rock ‘n’ roll scene for some 26 years now; in fact, the band’s self-styled “mastermind”, Xabi Garre, is widely regarded as one of the progenitors and flag-wavers for the scene in that particular corner of the Überverse, having been one of founding members of San Sebastian legends La Perrera. Now, Garre and his current bandmates have chosen to explore their extensive back catalogue with this, a collection of new recordings based on previously rare and/or unreleased tracks – hence the symbolism of the album’s numeric title!
Being the proud Basque that he is, Garre sings entirely in his native language (although, very helpfully, there are English translations of the song titles themselves on the band’s Facebook page), but we are assured that they are about all the usual punk ‘n’ roll standard themes – “lost women and low lifes [sic] fulfilled with smoke, booze and drugs…” But, then again, you don’t really need to understand the words to understand what is going on, because music, after all, is a universal language which speaks to everyone no matter the linguistic divide.
As a result, what we have are 11 tracks of no nonsense, unadulterated punk ‘n’ roll delivered straight from the heart and soul and captured in all their raw intensity. It’s old-fashioned garage rock, pure and simple, with no airs or graces or bones about what it is doing – although the fact that the band employ three guitars does help to add an extra layer of depth to the sound, and to the overall impact. Snappy percussions drive the songs forward with aplomb, and the triple guitars lead to some neat melodies and harmonic arrangements, which never overshadow the basic power and intensity of the delivery, which in turn is accentuate by Garre’s smoke-and-whiskey hoarsened vocal, which brings the level of life experience required to make the tunes work.
Although not a compilation album per se – something the band are very keen to emphasize – ‘94/20’ is a timely plundering of Señor No’s back catalogue, adding a fresh lick, colourful lick of paint to a collection of songs many, including myself (and I dare say even some diehard fans more knowledgeable than me), will have been unfamiliar with until now. Whatever the motivation for doing so, it’s always good to hear old songs brought back to life and presented to new audiences, if these audiences are also old ones (if you get my drift), and this is a very worthy exemplar of how it should be done. And who said punk is dead? Certainly not us, señor, no…
- ‘94/20’ is out now. You can get your copy, and loads of other great Bang! Records releases, HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.