Hell City Glamours

HELL CITY GLAMOURS - S/T [INDEPENDENT]
It doesn't take long into the opening track 'One Night Only' to be sold on the 'Glamours,
the only reason you'll be pressing the stop or pause button is to get up off your arse and
grab a beer or two in preparation for the other 12 tracks. A staple on the live scene,
rarely a month goes by where they aren't on some kind of tour, they've established a
name for themselves for their live show. Now a debut album has dropped and more ears
have the chance to catch onto their rock 'n roll wares. Unlike the Aussie rock bands
currently hogging the airwaves, HCG aren't a one trick pony, or just recycling previous
generations sound, variety is key, and no two songs sound the same, nor do any songs
drag, they get your attention from the outset and manage to hold it, which quite frankly,
I cannot think of any other Aussie bands doing this kind of sound have been able to do,
in my eyes anyway. 'One Night Only' & 'Back To You' get the party started, 'Josephine'
will ensure even those 'too cool to move around' folks are up and on the floor, 'Ready To
Fall' & 'The Money' have everyone singing along, 'In The Cold' brings out the air guitar in
everyone and closer 'Thank you' will probably find it's home also at the end of a set,
leaving your ears wanting more. Forget the over-rated hyped to the nines bands doing
the rounds, keep an eye out at your local, because chances are HCG will be back there
sometime soon. A little something for everyone from punk lovers to rock dogs and blues
fans. - Bombshellzine.com

There is nothing better than listening to a CD that blows you off your feet time and time again with its power, versatility, and originality. This is Hell City Glamours’ debut album.

Charging out of the gates with ‘One Night Only’, and remaining relentless until the final sustain of ‘Thankyou’, this is proof that Hell City Glamours are Australia’s most underrated Rock N’ Roll band.

Other than ‘No Love’, there is nothing recycled from previous EP releases, which shows that Hell City Glamours aren’t running dry of material any time soon. ‘Flying Away’ echoes The Rolling Stones but still sounds fresh. ‘Ready To Fall’ should be destined for the radio and ‘Right My Wrongs’ relives the swagger of ‘On The Rocks’ and ‘Another Cigarette’ from previous EP releases.

If there is one song that I had to play to sum up the entire album, it’s ‘The Money’. On Hell City Glamours previous 3 EP’s, they have shown hints of swagger, blues, punk and straight-ahead rock and roll – but rarely had they melded all of these together. ‘The Money’ is the perfect song to illustrate what Hell City Glamours have come to sound like on this album – swagger, blues, punk and rock n roll all thrown into the same pot… and the end result? A unique sound.

Continuing along the same path with ‘I’m Not Here’ before slowing it down with the Honky Town Women-esque vibe of ‘Worst Kinda Man’, no song falls below the bar raised by the first half of the album. Two of the biggest surprises come in the last part of the album – ‘In The Cold’ has an Iron Maiden-style gallop and ‘Thankyou’ has a heavy bass boogie that will shake your speakers.

Literally the only downside I can mention is that I prefer the raw, dirty demo version of ‘High Brow’ (which I picked up from one of their shows last year) as opposed to the cleaner, slightly re-arranged album version.

The press release for the album reads; “It’s taken six years, countless hours in vans, hundreds of shows all over Australia… Hell City Glamours’ self titled album is their defining moment…” – which is completely accurate.

After listening to this album continuously for the last few days, I can only come up with one reason as to why Hell City Glamours’ are not one of the ‘hype bands’ – they are too original. The last few major rock n roll exports from Australia have all built hype because they sound like other bands; Jet (The Beatles, The Faces), Wolfmother (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin), and most recently, Airbourne (AC/DC). In large part, the hype actually has nothing to do with the previously mentioned bands themselves (and I do love Airbourne), but the fact that Hell City Glamours can’t be pigeon holed with a ‘classic’ band seems to be their one ‘problem’. Let’s hope that the world opens their eyes (and ears) to Hell City Glamours, because they deserve to be at the top of the heap.

- Dirtyrock.net

HELL CITY GLAMOURS - Hell City Glamours (Hell City Records)
It ain't punk rock but I like it.

It's 30 years and a world away from the satin and platform heels of the first wave of Aussie glam and pub rock bands like Buffalo, the Aztecs, AC/DC et al to the current crop of Devil Rock Four, The Lazys, Casanovas, Airborne and Hell City Glamours, but there's a constant in the equation. Skinny white boys with long hair and tatts playing chunky riffs to audiences with long hair and tatts (some of them these days are even male.)

Hell City Glamours coalesced in Sydney in 2003 and started grabbing high-profile supports from the get-go. I've caught bits and pieces of their gigs since then but didn't approach this, their debut album, with any hard preconceptions other than that they seemed to have a grip on Aerosmith/Hanoi Rocks blues-metal rock. A bit like a Candy Harlots for the '00s.

First play of the CD blew me away. While I might find some of their influences downright gormless (Guns and Roses, Black Crowes) and some of their contemporaries more stylish than substantial, there's enough swagger and brashness in the Hell City Glamours to push their heads right ahead of the pack. They write good songs and punch them out with energy and verve. Is there something in that you don't like?

Their themes might be well-worn (life on the road, love and hate, money) but if you're looking for a diatribe on the social and geopolitical implications of instability in the Middle East you're sniffing the wrong glove. HCG somehow avoid the mundane and still turn it up to 11. Perhaps it's the Stonesy/Dolls streak showing through.

Musically, HCG have a big groove that swings like King Kong's nuts in a typhoon. Robbie Potts' drumming is especially noteworthy. Guitarists Mo Mayhem and Oscar McBlack have their chops well and truly down on tunes like "The Money" and the super sharp "I'm Not Here". McBlack's vocal attack is more measured than banshee wailing and for that I'm grateful. It's heard to great effect on the leery "Right My Wrongs" where, again, the swing is the thing. Mind you don't snag yourself on those guitars.

Melody is more than an archaic name that's been out of fashion since the '70s for these guys. Listen to the irresistible "Josephine", which is my hit pick of the 13 present. A hard rock shuffle with a snaking riff are welded to a big chorus (and aren't we all suckers for one of them?)

Opening tracks "One Night Only" and "Back To You" grab attention from the outset, rolling into each other like calories in a McMeal Deal when you're nursing a hangover. Eat up, it's good for you.

You get a Southern rocker ("Fly Away") and a vaguely Gram Parsonsesque sensitive rocker with a singalong whoa-oh chorus ("Worst Kinda Man") so yeah, all the bases are covered, but if there's not something to love here you're either (a.) a hard bastard to please, (b.) an indie pop hipster (c.) a heavily-made up emo or (d.) you're taking yourself and this whole Cock Rock caper far too seriously.
- www.i94bar.com

One band that went a long way in obliterating the sour taste left by The Galvatrons were Hell City Glamours, who absolutely tore into a set of sleazy rock. From the tight low-end to the brilliant guitar histrionics played at a million-miles-per-hour, it was raw, carnal rock brimming with the strippers, coke (read: cocaine) and bourbon influenced proclivities of Motley Crue and LA Guns. This tattooed crew might be from Sydney, but credit must be given where credit is due – the ‘Rock ‘n Roll Motherfucker’ emblazoned on their singer-guitarist’s singlet is not to be taken lightly, for they truly embody the spirit of their music.

- fasterlouder.com

Faster louder review Adelaide 170607

…warming the stage just nicely for The Hell City Glamours. Up next (nearly an hour later) The Hell City Glamours actually got their shit together for their forty-five minute set. By the way they were taking their time anyone would think we have all day to wait around for them. Last time I saw them I was hardly impressed but this time their performance was a huge improvement.
There is something that made me think that these lads are trying a little to hard to be rock stars and that was based purely on ‘glamming’ themselves up to look like rock stars. Still, their set was tight featuring songs off their forthcoming album and two EP’s previously released. Their big moment in their set came by way of White Trash Hot Love, which sent the crowd in to a frenzy with some serious slam dancing going on down front.
- Fasterlouder.com.au