Vice Squad’s ‘The Winter of Discontent’ EP kicks off with ‘You Don’t Fool Me’ which swaggers along like the bastard love child of AC/DC and the Cockney Rejects.
It’s the perfect backdrop for a tequila slammer or three on New Year’s Eve with it’s insistent catchy guitar riff and the band’s trade mark defiant lyrics:
‘Easy life of criticising, please put your complaint in writing
Ain’t no use in compromising, if we’re going down we’re fighting’.
Next up is ear worm ‘Christmas Has Been Cancelled’ with it’s cheerful melodic chorus and less-than-cheerful message ‘We’re all getting tired of waiting for something worth celebrating this year’.
‘A Dog Is For Life (Not just for Christmas)’ rumbles and growls across blast beats bewailing the appalling state of the nation with necessary fury and disdain.
Vice Squad don’t mince words and the truth may hurt but it needs to be said.
The penultimate track is the almost comical ‘Band’ where Beki reels off a list of ‘Emergencies’ related to the business of being in a Punk Rock combo.
The EP closes with the ethereal yet ominous ‘End of Story’ with it’s crystalline piano motif and angelic choir.