Archie and the Bunkers, “Archie and the Bunkers”
Available now
Label: Dirty Water Records (UK)
Very, very rarely is one of my favorite albums of the year released as late as November. I mean, it happens … just not all that often. Usually, I need some time to digest a new album, especially if it’s a band’s first proper full-length. So let me just say outright that a couple of teenage brothers from Cleveland made one of the best records of 2015.
Archie and the Bunkers are a duo comprised of teenaged brothers Emmet (14, drums/vocals) and Cullen (16, organ/vocals) O’Connell playing self-described Hi-Fi Organ Punk, no guitar or bass, just a four piece drum kit, an organ and the commingling of guttural, frenetic vocals that demonstrate maturity well beyond their years. This is raw, minimalist rock ’n’ roll that sounds simultaneously fresh and vintage. Their self-titled record was recorded in Detroit with the engineer/producer Jim Diamond (of the Dirtbombs) at Ghetto Recorders and is steeped in the rich lineage of artists to have recorded there before. Archie and the Bunkers is a strong argument that rock ’n’ roll is best when made by the young.
Recommended if you like The King Khan and BBQ Show, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages, The Cramps, The Screamers or Dead Boys
— Jon E. Lynch
