Visions In The Bowling Alley is the fourth album by The Jack Rubies and the second since this legendary late 80's band reformed a few years ago, they are still Ian Wright, SD Ineson, Steve Brockway, Lawrence Giltnane and Peter Maxted, the latter of whom also produced the album. With Emma Peters back as special guest again, the other special guests are Ayomi Ishito and Cat Henry.
The album opens with Greedy a song that can't help but be an anthem for our time, darkness caused by the profligate Greedy few, who want to own and run everything, never sharing, weird synths switching speakers and twanged guitars see that lion weeping tonight.
My Perception sees poison all around, in the furnishings and walls, how can you survive all this, slow post punk balladeering in a similar vein to Inca Babies, seeing things both as they are, or how they ought to be.
Primordial Sludge has them tied to the mast once more, tripping and disbelieving of the pit of ordure they wallow in, dreaming of the grand old days when this town was fun, I could go and see the Jack Rubies at the Mean Fiddler again, possibilities were greater, what they don't want to do is fade away, with piano and guitars like this it is unlikely.
Dead Man delves back to the 1950's for a dark twisted gothic tale, this has almost as much reverb as Inca babies use these days, I'd love to see them tour together. Emma's fiddle elevating and moving through the moods evoked.
Flying Machine may have been found on the decks of Hulme or down on Villiers Terrace, they glimpse through the facade and see just where we have arrived at, a destination no sane person ever wanted to see, can we stop dealing under the table, how do you dismantle the establishment when they start eating themselves alive.
Phantom could be the ghost of Alabama 3, of just a vision of the modern hell we have created, were you ever real, living in that bedsit down near murder mile, your Phantom haunts the streets still like the devil trying to break free from Georgia.
Asteroid is a 60's style garage rocker but twisted through a death rock prism, everything you did captured on camera and microphone, can you go anywhere but to an Asteroid without being recorded, transmuted into a deep fake of who you once were, twisted by AI into an odd amalgam of Naked Ruby and The Jack Rubies till they are interchangeable like space junk.
Are We Being recorded? Well it's the 2020's, so the answer is yes, at all times everywhere, paranoia may get to you, if not you will be caught on camera again. This Is Not A Joke empires are collapsing, new dawn is yet to arrive, how do we survive, do we have to read more books about the Beatles, how do we hasten the end of the empire and build a better world. A message to our lord and master Charlie boy and his boiler in chief Mrs PB. They have visions in the Bowling Alley of how we will be, in a post death of the establishment world.
Boat Rocker brings the commotions against the swell, turning this into a super catchy song to help us all to be Boat Rockers, in days when supporting the status quo would be an act of insanity. They go back to the band's roots for a version of the Sensational Alex Harvey bands classic Swampsnake that has that glam groove being pushed into the hissing miasma, battling the sax monster.
The album closes with Be Good Or Be Gone a baggy anthem, to making sure you are part of the solution, not part of the problem, watch out The Jack Rubies will step on you if you aren't going to be one of the good guys and gals.
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