I have no fucks to give when it comes to my love for Powerman 5000.
Powerman 5000 has been on a creative roll since Anyone For Doomsday? was shelved back in 2001, like a band burdened constantly with something to prove, and continue to astound with their latest slab of spaced out rawk, New Wave.
“Footsteps and Voices” is how you’d expect modern PM5K to kick off a new album with vocal lines that hearken back to those earlier releases (Mega!! Kung Fu Radio, for sure!) met with the sounds that they’ve honed on later recordings.
“Hostage”, on the other hand, is this whole other beast as it brims with intensive drumming by DJ Rattan and prepares listeners for an auditory world of hurt. Lead single “Sid Vicious in a Dress” is just the kind of PM5K song that you’ve come to expect from the band without sounding like a rehash (With this killer mechanical bass line from Murv Douglas). It will get you moving and singing along as loud as you can and is the best possible preview of the album.
Then a song like “David Fucking Bowie” drops and you have to shout out loud to no one in particular: “Are you fucking kidding me?” In the “Oh snap!” way, not the “This is dumb!” way. It’s ridiculous but catchy and something the late Thin White Duke would most certainly approve of.
“Cult Leader” is what would happen if The Kinks met Devo while “Thank God” is heavy metal bliss, plain and simple. Entering with an onslaught of riffs and Spider’s uncanny delivery, the song soon devolves into a shredfest (Thanks to the dual guitar madness of Ty Oliver and Ryan Hernandez) that’s in and out of your earholes before you know what hit you.
“Die On Your Feet” is a more traditional PM5K futuristic jam with gigantic choruses and even bigger bashing from Rattan with Spider pushing his voice to the absolute limit. “No White Flags” hits in the middle and serves as an insightful reprieve, complete with string passages until songs like “Get A Life” and “Run For Your Life” bring listeners back to the cybernetic rawk revolution.
New Wave is out through Pavement Entertainment on October 27th. Pre-order options galore await by clicking here, here, and here. And! You can click here to find out where you can see PM5K on their just announced fall tour!