Les Viperes

Hailing from Quebec City, Les Viperes throw down double-barrelled punk rock'n'roll with a mix of 1977 punk and '60s garage. The new album marks bit of a change in sound for the boys and it's a change for the better. Their previous work had a little more hardcore-ish street punk in the mix, while the new one generally has more groove and melody yet manages to keep the energy high. The opening track, "La Premiere Fois," gets off to flying start in a "Turbonegro meets the Devil Dogs" kind of way, and the party just don't stop with "Viens Cherie," which has a blues punk vibe. There are also four bonus songs here from a session at Jerry Teel's New York Funhouse studios that are older but gel well with the ten new tracks that make up the main body of the album. This is a sharp album of short, catchy, to-the-point songs from a hardworking Francophone (they've already toured France twice!) band.