WINGMEN
‘WINGMEN’
(CADIZ MUSIC)
8/10
This is not a drill. Wingmen are go! Featuring Baz Warne (The Stranglers), Paul Gray (The Damned), Leigh Heggarty (Ruts DC), and Marty Love (Johnny Moped), this Punk supergroup formed over lockdown, then recorded over lockdown while never being in the same damn room. The result is a meaty treat of Prog kissed gravy dripping treat of middle-aged observational Punk. The opener, ‘Starting Blocks’, is an instrumental jukebox taster that pushes all the right buttons while leaving a lingering Stranglers taste on the moist tongue of expectation. ‘The Last Cigarette’ lands rabbit punches in the swirly fog of Punk, Rock and Prog, while Baz’s vocals have that stern headmaster delivery while the perfectly paced cut happily meanders in and out of a genre maze.
Next up is the Broadway musical kissed ‘Louis Smoked The Bible’, and the Guys ‘N’ Dolls feel is matched with a splash of a Madness chorus and a smidge of early Seventies pomp. A moaning mirror holding ‘Brits’ unveils the negativity a Daily Mail generation feels every morning when opening up the imperial fear and loathing breakfast read, and before you can say “illegals and rapists taking our jobs”, ‘I Would If I Could’ Dad dances into view and shakes its dusty hips with a swaggering Tory swipe usually only heard when Sir Mick Lynch takes to the podium. This thoroughly enjoyable listening experience continues with the this too will pass message of hope and anguish, all wrapped up in nightmare-inducing keyboards and a breezy autumnal chorus that disarms and calms. The whole album is bursting with pockets of influences from all four players’ day jobs, and this gleams brightest on ‘Mary Go Round’ and the (possible) Farage/Brexit bashing ‘Oh! What A Carry On’ (and where did that money promised on the Brexit bus go, eh Nige?). The final duo of a feline ‘Backstage At The Opera’ and the atmospheric slower-paced ‘Raining All Over England’ complete this Sunday pub roast after a brisk walk in icy British temperatures of a release. Sumptuous, filling and with enough room left for seconds.
For more Winmen info, head over to