THE INDEPENDENTS
ETERNAL BOND
(Suki Records)
by Thomas Vangen Lund
2005 was the year that I discovered The
Independents, I discovered them when reading about Joey Ramone, the lead singer
of The Ramones from 1974 – 1996, I found out that he used to be their manager,
«this has got to be a great band» I thought to myself and man was I right! A
friend of mine went to one of their shows in Florida one night in Oct. 2006,
she then bought me a copy of "Eternal Bond" and shipped it to me and I've been a
loyal fan ever since.
It's been brought to my attention that
this album is slightly darker than their previous ones, heavier or more serious
if you want to call it that, and no, that does not mean it is any more boring!
The album seems perfectly done, from production to performance to even the
artwork, it progresses perfectly for my taste, it starts with "Quarter to
Three," a relatively fast ska-like song, played in the known Independents style
and ends with a slower song "White Feathers," a more unexplored side of the
Independents (which is just as good, might I mention), a great way to end the
album. The "Baby Doll" demo is also a nice bonus addition, though the final
studio version (also featured on the album) is the version I have listened to
the most.
If you have never heard about The Independents before, this is a
great album to start with like I did,
this is the very album that made me this
big of a fan in the first place.
Track listing:
Performers
Evil Presly: Vocals
Willy B: Guitars, backing vocals
Additional musicians;
Jason Spaugh: Drums
Kyle Thrash: Bass
Steve Prosser: Keyboards (Lullaby)
It is also worth mentioning that this album is dedicated to the memory of Jeff Hyman (Joey Ramone) and Gordon Harper.