Inspired by the infamous Karangahape Road, Luger Boa’s latest release New Hot Nights drives your sensibilities to the edge.
Don’t reach for this LP in an attempt to gain a relaxing, ‘normal’ perspective on humankind, because the lyrics on this release confront and tell us just how it is when one is living life on the wire.
That’s not to say it’s down and dark throughout, but it certainly shoots straight.
The twelve tracks on this release don’t fit nicely into one genre. Track one is “Paralyzed”, the Bowie’esque’, up-tempo number that Jimmy Christmas (formerly of The D4) injects with grit and rawness.
Of particular mention are “Asteroids & Satellites”, “Diamond Girls” and “Loose Wire”, all with a groovy glam rock sound and hooks that eat away at your brain until they drive you nuts.
The drums and guitars pulsate and urge listeners to dance in wild abandon, and the band has even managed to slip in a little bit of punk with “FTK (Fuck Tha Kidz)”, which Christmas assures us is a tongue-in-cheek slap at today’s youth.
The album then unfortunately loses its way somewhat. “The Same Things” and, to some extent“Bank Robber”, drone on without much excitement and the record temporarily loses focus.
It takes the excellent percussion sounds of “Some Kind Of Killer” to draw the listener back in and be excited enough to continue to explore the other tracks.
The whole shebang finishes with “400A”, which begins with the nostalgic playing of a Hammond organ and moves into a chorus that tells us to get ‘fucked up!’
Radio stations have left this one alone but it’s certainly not too late to slip this little piece of ‘life in the fast lane’ onto your own getaway playlists.
