When Über Röck first hit the world like a bolt of molten metal from planet cool back in August 2009, one of the first albums I had the pleasure of reviewing was the debut album from Candy Now! featuring the infamous frontman of punk rock legends The Dwarves, the irrepressible Blag Dahlia. 'Candy Now!' was an album full of juxtaposed sixties pop melody and what Blag lovingly referred to as 'lounge core' accompaniment. Not exactly the output you'd expect from one of the wildest frontmen this planet has to offer.

Ten months on and I'm sat here holding the debut solo album from Blag's long term partner in crime The Dwarves guitarist Hewhocannotbenamed, wondering if this set of songs will follow Blag's voyage of musical rediscovery? With the production overseen by Bradley Cook (Counting Crows, Foo Fighters) I'm half expecting this to follow not only the path of Candy Now! but also Nick Oliveri's acoustic project, and see Hewhocannotbenamed coming on all Samba-core or something.

But as soon as the first bars of 'Happy Suicide' rip out of your speakers, you immediately remember this is a guy who faked his own death to get out of a record deal, and I suppose the answer to my question was written all over the album sleeve, with the project lovingly titled 'Sunday School Massacre'. This is quite simply a twelve-track injection of hook laden, fucked up rock 'n' roll, just like your doctor ordered.

So Hewhocannotbenamed isn't exactly fucking around when he sings 'Hate Song', 'Sinister Sal', 'Daddy Is Dead', and 'Duct Tape Love', all the songs delivered with a keen ear for melody but with that essential perverted Dwarves twist in the tail.

Rex Everything pops up on the three-minute stomp along 'Medication' that has me thinking of just how much QOTSA miss his maniac vocals within their set up, whilst Blag Dahlia drops in for 'Superhero' sounding uncannily like Eddie Spaghetti in the process. It is however the track 'Machine Boy' that really stands out here, a tale from Hewhocannotbenamed's days as a counsellor that illustrates a very human edge to every young boys desire to be a super hero. It also just happens to be one hell of a tune as well.

As a debut solo album Hewhocannotbenamed has managed to produce one hell of a work of art. However be warned as it does come with his usual display of cockneck, but if you have a strong enough stomach to get past this, the delights of tracks like 'Bill V's The Gnomes' and 'Toxine' are just waiting to be discovered. 

Buy this fucker and make a nude masked man very happy indeed.

http://www.myspace.com/thehewhocannotbenamed