BUGDUST

Welcome To The City Of Snakes

(Index)

Scorpions, strippers, drugs, death and dodgy dealers…Welcome To The City Of Snakes. Recorded in El Paso, Texas, Bugdust's debut full-length is like a fly on the wall account of their adventure into the desert. Far away from their hometown of Melbourne the story starts with SpeedQueen's big guitars enticing you to get up, get loose and get on it. In the fast-paced City Of Snakes, you find yourself stumbling down unknown streets after midnight; stepping over bums, hookers and refuse. Seeing things you would rather forget.

This album feels like a never-ending night out. A binge of Sixty Days Of Nights where time and reality is lost amid a blur of tequila and rattle snakes. Black Lotus is like a devil on each shoulder telling you to keep partying on. However, as with any decent bender, the following days find you crawling through your mind trying to find out what happened and why your clothes are bloody and torn. It's a fast paced affair, broken up by a couple of songs that feel less dangerous and don't really fit the album's Mexican desert vibe.

Welcome To The City Of Snakes' clean production is juxtaposed to the dirty riffs and seedy lyrical content. Teenage Lust and Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls bring in the red lights and cocaine, but they fall short of the whirlwind marriage come murder found in My Girl. Dirty deeds are done dirt-cheap in a city where no one sleeps, unless you end up in a hole in the desert thanks to the Mexican Death Squad.

For straight-up punchy rock, Bugdust do mix things up with multiple vocalists, layered harmonies and various guitar tones to suit each mood. Butterflies feels out of place, but adds some obscurity to what is mostly up-tempo gritty rock to drink to.

While not as catchy as Death Squad or Sixty Days, the stand out track is Disaster. Acoustic Spanish guitars introduce a rolling, menacing riff - provoking you to stick two middle fingers up at authority, spill blood and make love to strangers.

By the last track, Dog Evil, you may have passed out and become another sun-dried carcass lying beside a bottle full of sand. For those still standing, there is no time for regrets, licking your wounds or chasing mirages of a better life. Find your head and forget your name – night has fallen and The City Of Snakes beckons.

JAMES RIDLEY