The Defects - Hunter Versus Hunter (Review By Ade Bailey)

  It's Friday, it's guest review day and it's the return of Enemies Of Promise frontman and Revolution Rock presenter Ade Bailey who's going to review the latest album by The Defects. Over to you Mr Bailey.....

The Defects – ‘Feed The Good Dog’

  It’s often the case that the bands we remember from the early days of punk attempt to make come-backs, reunions and nostalgic tours, and when they do, it’s with very mixed results. Belfast boys The Defects however never really went away – constantly making music and ever active in the wonderful scene the city has.

  So here we are with ‘Feed The Good Dog’ hot on the heels of 2015’s (patchy at best) ’45 Minutes’ and straight from the off it’s clear where this album’s roots and message lie, targeting a new set of injustices, Buck and the boys launch into ‘Another Broken Promise’ and it’s huge! Politicians seem to be the main villains on this record (and rightly so) with absolutely everything cranked up to maximum – Roy McAllister’s guitar sound across the whole record is incredible. Coupled with Buck Defect’s trademark staccato delivery, it’s a thrill packed 30 mins of an album with choruses that instantly get stuck in your head and are destined to be shouted back at the band from pits across the country this year.

  The majority of the subject matter is the current state of the world but there are the odd little diversions like ‘Gate Crash’ which is the natural companion to 2013’s ‘Hill Street’ with its tale of party nights past. Another stand out is ’30 Billion Dollar Swindle’ which delves into moon-landing conspiracies and has a very clever Neil Armstrong sample woven into the chorus – it’s terrific listening.
I always rated ‘Politicophobia’ as their best work until this little gem landed. It’s rarely been off my playlist over the past few weeks and I can honestly say it’s made a early bid for my album of 2018. Check it out, you won’t regret it.

https://www.facebook.com/THE-DEFECTS-106572156054903/

  This is Hunter Versus Hunter.....

The Defects - Brotherhood Of Death

(photo by Rodney Snr Pennie)

  The Defects are the Belfast punk veterans who formed way back in 1978, released the Defective Breakdown album and a handful of singles before going their seperate ways. As with many of their contemporaries they reformed many years later and are still releasing great music today (an example being this song I featured a couple of years ago....  justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-defects-45-minutes.html)

  Now lining up with original members Buck Murdoch (vocals) and Glenn Kingsmore (drums) plus newish recruits Roy McAllister (guitar) and Aidy  Dunlop (bass) they've once again poked their heads above parapet and released new album Feed The Good Dog. You can get the cd from Punkerama Records....  http://www.punkeramarecords.com/apps/webstore/products/show/7618967 .

  They've a number of gigs scheduled for the new year including The Rebellion Festival. Get details here :                    https://www.facebook.com/THE-DEFECTS-106572156054903/

  From the album, this is an a song about war, death and business. In the current political climate we need bands like The Defects more than ever to hold up a mirror to society. It's called Brotherhood Of Death.....

The Defects - 45 Minutes

 
  Today's song is the title track from the new album by The Defects and it concerns itself with the dossier which Tony Blair used as a reason for joining the United States in invading Iraq. Supposedly Saddam Hussein had an armoury of chemical and biological weapons of which some were deployable within 45 minutes. With that information, we went to war, and didn't it turn out well, bringing peace and harmony to the world.

  The Defects formed way back in 1978 in Belfast, the original line up consisting of Ian "Buck" Murdoch (vocals), Marcus "Dukie" Duke (guitar), Jeff Gilmore (bass) and Glenn Kingsmore (drums). After releasing the Dance (Until You Drop) ep on their own Casualty label they signed to WXYZ Records and put out a follow up, Survival, and a debut album, Defective Breakdown. I.D. Records released their cover of Suspicious Minds but things fell apart not long after.

  There was a brief appearance in 1996 when they played a punk festival at the Bath Pavilion but it wasn't until 2010 that a proper reunion took place. Still featuring Murdock and Kingsmore, the new line up also includes Roy McAllister on guitar and Aidy "Fudge" Dunlop on bass. In 2011 Punkerama Records released the Revelator ep and then in 2013 the Politicophobia album and a couple of singles (Riot Free Zone and Hill Street).

  The new album, 45 Minutes, is out now and here's the title track.....