Vice Squad

Reviews

Vice Squad Shot Away LP reissue

VICE SQUAD was featured on a compilation, Punk and Disorderly, that was one of my introductions to punk rock. “Last Rockers” will forever remain an important song to me. Some of their first releases remain among my favorites. They were also prolific enough that not everything resonated with me. This release, from 1984, has a power pop base, but also retains some of that eeriness from their early years (think of those “ohh…ohhhhhh” lyrics). So, it’s catchy and melodic and poppy on the one hand, but then also sort of dark. The vocals are almost sweet at times. Whether or not you’re a big VICE SQUAD fan, this one is definitely worth listening to.

Vice Squad Shot Away LP

Varied in sound, from classic VICE SQUAD to SUZIE QUATRO to punk lounge music to PAULINE MURRAY-esque material. Some songs are totally great, with neat choruses and subtle touches upon pounding rhythms, and others are doggie-doo. Better than not, overall, and sometimes it’s pretty funny.

Vice Squad Teenage Rampage / High Spirits 7″

Their cover of SWEET’s “Teenage Rampage” is a tiresome retread of ’70s rock I’d just as soon forget (is it meant as a joke?). The flip, however, is more in keeping with VICE SQUAD’s typically polished punk sound. Release by release, this band is sounding increasingly like LIGOTAGE (Beki’s band). Coincidence?

Vice Squad Black Sheep / New Blood 7″

Beki Bondage may adopt any pose in her efforts to become a rock star, but there’s no denying that the new VICE SQUAD single is an excellent one. In fact, it’s their best release since their first two EPs. “Black Sheep” is a melodic mid-tempo number that’s right up Jack Rabid’s alley; the flip is a more rhythmic cut with haunting Gregorian-style background chants.

Vice Squad Stand Strong Stand Proud LP

Some feel that VICE SQUAD is falling into the morass of contemporary post-punk. Not quite yet. Stand Strong Stand Proud, despite several throwaway numbers, clashes with social malignancies like vivisection (“Humane”), political passivism (“Freedom Begins at Home”), and the steady erosion of punk values (“Out of Reach”) with power and complete credibility. In addition, Beki’s point of view provides a welcome contrast to the typical male-dominance in modern-day hardcore. Highly recommended.

Vice Squad Stand Strong EP

A band that’s really deteriorated since their first two EPs. This new one, though not as bad as its immediate predecessor, barely halts the downward spiral. Beki seems bent on taking the same route as Siouxie, and the band appears content to follow lamely along. Only “Tomorrow’s Soldier” packs a real wallop because of its straightforward nature and louder guitars.