| Artist |
| The Hyenas |
| Title |
| Dirty Little Love Song |
| Format/Cat |
| n/a |
| Label |
| Big Trash Records |
| Style |
| garage/punk/rock |
| Date of review |
| 3 October 2008 |
| Reviewer |
| Anya Hastwell |
| Rating |
| 9/10 |
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Any band that proclaims itself as a 'hybrid of the Bad Seeds, The Cramps and The Damned' has got my expectations and my hopes up, yes – and they're now all pinned on the listening. And, am I disappointed? Oh no, what a surprise – it's great! A down and dirrrrty bass, Cramps-esque guitar, and decidedly suggestive lyrics sung by a swooning Paul of Upminster, what more do you want from your rock 'n' roll? You could play this in your leopard-print seated Cadillac De Ville, cigarette in holder, cruising around and vamping it up – you'll get a few looks, upset a large number of Daily Mail readers and grandmothers, but it'd be worth it. But lyrically, "Under The Ultra-Violet Lights" is a winner. 'I dumped her body but kept her heart', a murderer's love poem to the girl he's just stabbed under the UV, presumably in some dank and dingy nightclub somewhere in Hackney. It's catchy, quirky, memorable and with more than just a touch of dark panache. Ye haw, I know I'm getting excitable here, but I reckon they might be onto something. They hail from Camden, so I know it's unlikely they'll be clean-cut kids, but if they manage to hold it together, then who knows? They've already supported Babyshambles and Gallows, and they've got a certain sparkle and fire that's perceptible from just one listen – it's all good!
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