MUSIC: THE LAZYS – Tropical Hazards

Shane | 16 June 2018 | Reply

MUSIC: THE LAZYS – Tropical Hazards
Golden Robot Records
February 2018
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

They may be Lazys, but they sure ain’t slack. Album #3 for the Toronto quintet is as energetic and in yer face a slab of riff rock as you’re likely to hear this year.

Opener Nothing But Trouble makes it clear that they’re no strangers to the souped up pub rock ethos of a little band called Accadacca, and that is the foundation upon which most of Tropical Hazards is built: the same swaggering bravado, girl chasing glint in the eye, few beers with your mates nudge and a wink, and Young brothers razor sharp riffs and schoolboy soloing, all wrapped up like an excited pack of happy pit bulls driving a rock n’ roll bulldozer.

In fine Bon Scott tradition Half Mast Blues’ tale of the priapically challenged is a hoot; One Too Many is either a salute to one helluva weekend or a cautionary tale to avoid the booze – not sure which; Louder Than Youth picks up where Alice Cooper’s Department Of Youth left off; Can’t Kill The Truth rails against liars and the corrupt; and Take Back The Town is a Youth Gone Wild-like call to rise up against The Man, represented here by greedy councils and developers trying to shut youth culture and rock n’ roll out of inner city areas.

But it’s the songs which break the mould which really set the album apart. Young Modern Lightning features a thoughtful lyric and smokey ballad feel, and Somebody’s Daughter is a powerful song about supporting victims of abuse, hyper relevant in these days when it is so urgently essential that awareness and a positive culture of respect reach young people, especially males.