About The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church is a British-American rock band. It was initially active between 1982 and 1989, then between 2003 and 2007, on an episodic basis. The group consisted of members from the punk rock scene; Stiv Bators (The Dead Boys), Brian James (The Damned), Dave Tregunna (Sham 69) and Nick Turner (The Barracudas), but opted for a more polished and refined rock sound. Stiv Bators and his bandmates adopted a physical appearance marked by gothic and tribal elements, particularly in their hairstyles and the use of outlandish makeup reminiscent of the New York Dolls.Tempo pressed as if it had to be concluded, riff of a confounding simplicity (a descent of the range) but formidable as it remains in the head, chorus sung with energy, chanted to an imaginary crowd, taken up in chorus, “New Church”, the opening track, does not deceive on the origins. The Lords of the New Church is above all the creature of old-school punk briscards who have come here to have fun and smash everything with a clever cynicism. Judge for yourself: Stivs Bators (The Dead Boys), Brian James (The Damned), Dave Tregunna (Sham 69), Nick Turner (The Barracudas), no less. A legendary super-group.
The story is that of a friendship. The American Stiv Bators met the Englishman Brian James, born Roberston, in 1977 when the former was opening for the latter at CBGB in New York. They work on the sly writing songs. They wanted to distort the slightly too rigorous framework of punk (to return to the Rolling Stones, the Stooges, the Seeds). But they also have another idea in mind. Because Stiv Bators is a fan of the occult. That's good, Brian James is also interested in the Golden Dawn, paganism or the precepts of Aleister Crowley. Their new band official, they offer an album that mixes garage rock, punk and gothic, ranked third in the independent charts!
They have all progressed, in singing, in acting, in writing. They have certainly swapped their jeans with holes in them for a vulgarly dark look, they remain above all lovers of rock'n'roll, enjoyable and dazzling (“Eat Your Heart Out” or “Li'l Boys Play With Dolls”). They launch themselves with delight into provocation, with wild cries, more theatrical intonations and crude words. The drums roll at full speed and the guitars are more acerbic, a keyboard has fun. “Livin' On Livin'” or the crazy “Portobello” are much more disturbing than simple punk songs. Even “Open Your Eyes”, and its cheap keyboard, lets a hint of tremolos show in the voice.
Anyway, the melodies are incredibly exciting, like the groovy and sexy “Russian Roulette” or the hard-hitting “Holy War”, its choirs and Homeric guitar.
There is a sharp sense of songwriting, especially on the choruses, transforming each track into a potential hit, where it is good to tap your feet, shake your head and waddle your hips (“Question Of Temperature”). Gothic should not be a headache, it remains rock, and The Lords of the New Church is the perfect demonstration of this.
Browse all Songs and Lyrics published on The Lords of the New Church