Sickwalt – Shove N’ Love (X Ray Records)

SickWalt is probably a name unknown to most of us but it is the band of Walt ‘Sick Walt’ Novak and the act came to life in 2014 when he began collaborating with fellow New Yorker Max Capshaw and they have since taken their high energy rock ‘n’ roll out to the masses to great acclaim. Hailing from Astoria, Queens, a real melting pot of a district and its residents know what they want from their rock bands and SickWalt delivers in spades with perfect incendiary rock and roll like a punch to the face. The music is awash with raw passion and energy but the performances are slick and perfectly delivered. Based on a populist sound of rock from the streets, they have taken their influences from The Stooges and MC5 so you know that you are going to get pounding bass and drums and staccato guitar with crashing riffs and searing solos with a vocalist who has an outstandingly good rock voice and is a true character.

This is the debut album following on from a couple of EPs and is short at 35 minutes but the songs are compact and delivered at 100mph in typical Ramones fashion. Pretty typical of the band and its sound is the ferocious Punk Almighty, a perfectly delivered homage to the punk movement and its larger than life stars and followers with a fast and ferocious riff and aggressive vocals. However, do not think that this is just a raucous riff-fest as there are moments of classic rock genius and all delivered perfectly by a band in total control and all master musicians. There is even a whiff of the mighty Flamin’ Groovies about some of the more laid back and melodic tracks that the band also excels at and especially so on the album closing Love Alignment.

Walt Novak has the voice for sure but he and Max Capshaw have put together a mighty fine band of musicians that deliver delightfully raw and basic rock that is actually anything but raw and basic! Sometimes, you just need a short, sharp kick to the senses which bands like The Ramones, Sex Pistols and MC5 have all delivered perfectly and to these names you can now add SickWalt, totally enjoyable great fun rock and roll.