Simon RushworthJackson Firebird – Shake The Breakdown (Napalm)
Genre: Hard Rock
It’s 18 months since we bestowed a richly deserved RUSHONROCK RATED: 10/10 on Jackson Firebird’s red hot debut – the self-mocking Cock Rockin’ – and there was a genuine buzz about the place when Shake The Breakdown dropped earlier this month.
Rather disappointingly this doesn’t represent an upward curve but rather a puzzling plateau for a band with such compelling potential.
Opener Mohawk Bang!, Voodoo and Headache Mantra are a bizarre concoction of early Red Hot Chilli Peppers, cult funk rockers White Trash and, at their worst, Crazy Town.
A scuzzed up version of Fat Bottomed Girls is standard, rather than sparkling, and JF’s take on The Clapping Song screams filler not killer. The title track sums it all up as Brendan Harvey and Dale Hudak weird out on the stoner rock meets nu metal of Shake The Breakdown.
This isn’t the band we remember. And not in a good way. Simon Rushworth
RUSHONROCK RATED: 5/5 Misfirebird