Punk Rock Factory are on a serious roll right now. Three singles dropped, “intimate” UK tour wrapped up, larger venues being played as I type (literally, they’ll be on stage in Liverpool right now), and a swathe of larger gigs lined up for October/November. And Peej even had time to chat to our own Shells recently. All this on the back of playing other people’s songs. Not that this is a bad thing if you do it right. Tragedy have been decimating city after city doing the very same thing for some years now, and their recent album is a belter.
I happened to be the one who reviewed that particular album, and the same issue is relevant here: part of “getting” a covers album, however much the original has been stylised, is familiarity with those originals. Prior to Stage, Punk Rock Factory have rattled through classic rock anthems, Disney favourites, classic rock anthems (again), kids’ TV series themes, Disney favourites (again)… and now “songs from the musicals”.
This could so easily be a stumbling block. After all, everyone (who matters) knows “Bat Out of Hell”, “Let It Go”, “Last Resort”, the theme from Gummi Bears and “The Bear Necessities”, but how many could pinpoint “Shallow”, or claim to really know “I Dreamed A Dream”? Treading the boards across a selection of musicals could just make things trickier for the Welsh sausage-munchers. After all, if you’ve not got the original as a reference point then you’re effectively listening to a brand new song and that cover “hook”, the immediacy of going “oh, I’ve heard this one before!” is gone.
PRF, however, have this incredibly annoying knack of making everything they play sound like fun. If you have heard the original version, then it helps (and you can really appreciate what they’ve done with it). If you haven’t then you usually end up wanting to, just so you can compare it to the punk-pop-tastic sensation you just bounced through. Such was the case with me as I listened to It’s Just A Stage. Over and over again.
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Of the eleven songs on offer, I can claim to have known precisely four of them before listening to the album (not including the three singles, all of which features on the recent tour and none of which I’d heard before either). This quartet hit perfectly. PRF’s trademark “sing like you’re grinning like a loon” technique worked perfectly for “December 1963” (which I didn’t know was from a musical), “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Mamma Mia” (bit of a cheat as it wasn’t originally in a musical, but forgiven as this version rocks) and “You’re The One That I Want”.
From this four, the Les Mis track “I Dreamed A Dream” was the hardest to wrap my head around as it’s so different from the original. If you’ve heard it, it’s a slow, soulful number. Hugely emotional. Not at the hands of Punk Rock Factory. Melody? Check. Lyrics? Check? Overall feel? Sod that, now it’s a party song. I’m still not 100% sure I like it as it’s so jarring, and I love the original so much, but when I don’t focus on it being a cover it’s just so damn good. Thank you, Punk Rock Factory, for messing with my head.
You’ll already have have the chance to hear “Rewrite The Stars”, the band’s second visit to The Greatest Showman, “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton and Wicked‘s “Defying Gravity” with its vomit-inducing upside-down video. Filling in the gaps around these and the earlier mentioned songs are “Waving Through A Window” (Dear Evan Hansen), “City of Stars” (La La Land), “Shallow” (A Star Is Born) and “I Will Follow Him” (Sister Act).
Each song is done with a lot of respect to its source, with any added material feeling as if it was there in the first place. You know, pretty much as we’re used to from this lot.
Rattling off an album a year is pretty good by today’s standards, but I guess it helps when you’re not having to write your own material. Which is fine by me, as I already can’t wait to see what 2024 has to bring. No pressure, guys. Much.
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It’s Just A Stage We’re Going Through is out on March 31st and is available to pre-order now.
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