Soho Roses-Whatever happened to...The complete works of

Full Breach Kicks
2007

I never heard of this band until just very recently, but Soho Roses were a British band and they were around from 1987-1989. They released one lp, one ep, a 12 inch single and a 7 inch single. This cd includes all of that material plus a few remixes. From the band name and the image my guess that they would be like Hanoi Rocks and indeed they are. They play a mix of glam and punk rock with the prime influences being Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls, Sweet, Ramones, Avengers and maybe even DOA. The odd thing is that these songs sound like they were done between about 1979 and 1982 rather than the late 1980's. So apparently these guys did what they wanted rather than following the big trends of the time. That's cool because they have a good sound, but that might also be why they didn't get any further than they did. The vocals and overall feel is closest to Hanoi Rocks, but the pacing leans more towards early punk rock than Hanoi Rocks normally did. The songs are short, largely mid-tempo and fairly simple yet fun. They are also far more straight forward than Hanoi Rocks or New York Dolls with little quirkiness and not a lot of changes within the songs. They pull it off, but a number of the songs are similar to one another because they don't mix it up a whole lot. I certainly prefer this to many of the hair bands that were pouring out of our country at the time. There is much more of a genuine feel to it as they manage to maintain a great deal of energy without having the over-processed sound that so many bands of the day suffered from. My only major complaint is that I wish I had heard them back in the late 1980's because I would enjoyed them back then a great deal. At least I am getting to hear them now.

http://www.myspace.com/sohoroses