by Alexandra Mrozowska
– Senior Columnist —
“Never judge a book by its cover”, wise men used to say, a rightful approach in about nine cases out of ten. However, there’s always some exception to the rule. Just imagine four guys wearing their best Ziggy-Stardust-meets-Ace-Frehley make-up and costumes that will make Wig Wam’s Glam persona shrink into himself. Add the stage names such as “Dancette” or “Sensai” and the fact all band members proudly bear the same last name – “Pleasure”, as if channeling their inner Ramones. If you’re still not convinced the German act The Pleasures is the worst nightmare of every Glam Rock antagonist – check out their newly released EP Foursome Reason to find out it’s opened with the intro that addresses “Ladies, gentlemen, sluts, whores, perverts and deviants…” Sounds as if the audience at the band’s gigs was… well, an interesting cross section of society, for a lack of a better phrase.
“Crazy People Are Hot” is the first track proper, an eyebrow-raising ode to the lyrical ego’s compelling identity (and the goods from their vanity case). Music-wise, it introduces a listener to The Pleasures’ glam rock sound aesthetics with distinct echoes of The Sweet’s “bubblegum” era, the early Hanoi Rocks and perhaps even more contemporary glam-oriented groups such as Wig Wam or The Ark. The second track off the EP is “Silent Valley” that leans towards modern-day glam/sleaze sound with its heavy riff-laden background, aggressive vocal manner and ominous voice modulations. It’s definitely less melodic and more rough than the previous one, thus exploring the spheres occupied by the likes of Hardcore Superstar rather than The Ark. “Come On Foursome Reason”, apart from the sharp-as-a-marble wordplay in the title, is also on the heavier side of things with its grinding riff and noisy choruses. The final song is “I’ll Do Anything (…But Foreplay),” featuring the guest participation by Toxic Rose (and ex-Gemini Five) guitarist Tom Wouda. Fast shredding against ‘80s-infused synthesizers, it’s again a song neither Wig Wam nor The Ark would have hesitated to include especially on earlier of their albums.
Although they claim to have inherited the throne from Mötley Crüe and Pretty Boy Floyd, The Pleasures can be viewed rather as the German answer to Steel Panther. There are some similarities between the two – the blinding glare of their lyrical sensitivity, for example — but while the wig-wearing Americans draw the majority of their inspirations from their homies of the Sunset Strip era, the musical roots of The Pleasures reach elsewhere, either to the abyss of the ‘70s British Glam Rock or to the contemporary glam/sleaze metal scene occupied almost solely by the descendants of the Vikings. Hence, their new material is a cross between The Sweet and Wig Wam, with a bit of Hardcore Superstar in. Traditionally melodic, but also quite rough when attempting more up-to-date sound aesthetics, tongue-in-cheek and understandably theatric, this Hamburg-based quartet is simply Glam Rock to the utmost. And while there’s been many a better band than this one and listening to The Pleasures’ newly released EP is by no means a sublime artistic experience, you may check it out anyway. For pure fun, at least.
Genre: Glam Rock
Band:
Dancette Pleasure – vocals, keyboards
Sensai Pleasure – bass, vocals
Curtis Cheiron Pleasure – guitar, vocals
Tarankai Pleasure – drums, vocals
Track List:
1. Four On The Floor (intro)
2. Crazy People Are Hot
3. Silent Valley
4. Come On Foursome Reason
5. I’ll Do Anything (…But Foreplay)
Label: City Of Lights Records
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thepleasures – http://www.thepleasures.de
Hardrock Haven rating: 6/10
