Album Review: Spencer P Jones & The Nothing Butts - Spencer P Jones & The Nothing Butts

This one, the latest in a long line of musical offerings from perennial rock'n'roll misfit Spencer P Jones, was originally slated as a solo record. Heading out bush with producer Andrew McGee, Jones had the songs and was set to put 'em together all on his lonesome, but before they knew it the project had grown legs, become sentient and rollicked off on its own, knocking over whatever got in its way and to hell with the consequences. The reason for this was the addition of Jones's old Beasts Of Bourbon compatriot James Baker (Jones's call) and fellow rock'n'rollers Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin of The Drones (McGee's call) – hence The Nothing Butts came to be, and Jones's solo record was out the window. Instead came about the aforementioned sentient being, a rock'n'roll record if ever there was one – no surprise really.

And, truth be known, it's exactly as it should be. From the first note of opener Only A Matter Of Time the record bursts from the blocks, spilling whiskey as it lumbers along at a rate of knots, randomly smacking people in face as it goes. Even the slower numbers, like (She Walks) Between The Raindrops, are battle-hardened, such is Jones's vocal delivery – rough and tumble for sure. Where the group are at their best, though, is on the tracks they lay down, seemingly with reckless abandon. The opener, Freak Out, When Friends Turn and Conditions Apply are all riff-heavy, thrashing beasts, some with a little dash of Pixies too – that fuzzed-out pop sound. All in all it's a dirty fucker of a record, which is just perfect.