The Damned
Grave Disorder (Nitro)
My God! Has it been almost 20 years since the last “proper” Damned album? You wouldn’t know it by listening to Grave Disorder. Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian, core members of the first UK punk band to release a single way back in ’76, have jumped back into the game with a disc that naturally follows 1982’s underrated, less-punk-more-noir Strawberries as though nary a year has passed since its release. In fact, some of this material plays like it’s been sitting on a shelf for a decade or more waiting to be recorded. Sensible’s “topical” attacks on John Lennon (“Would You Be So Hot If You Weren’t Dead?”) and Michael Jackson (“Neverland”) are hardly burning with lyrical urgency in ’01, though Jackson’s upcoming release may reverse that. On the other hand, there’s bushels of fresh anger from the old punks, opener “Democracy?” and their ode to a certain former Texas guv’nor being the best examples. In particular, “W” is a blasting rocker with hints of Gary Numan and Santana thrown into the mix. The snarling declaration that, “They counted you out, then they counted you in, and they’re counting still — it’ll make my day when I see your face on a dollar bill,” might be the most subtle death wish on disc. Overall, the production is as dense as one has come to expect from the self-proclaimed “kings of reverb.” It’s a far cry from “Neat, Neat, Neat,” but as far as balls, check out any of the many fast ones on Grave Disorder, from “Thrill Kill” and “Looking for Action” to the aforementioned “W” to be assured that the old sods have still got ’em in spades. Who knew? (The Damned play the Back Room on Nov. 2)
This article appears in August 31 • 2001.