LUCKY PUNCH - 'Kick Up A Hullabaloo' LP/CD PRESS

MELODICK (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Ca commence comme du Hellacopters première époque, ca continue comme du Guns and Roses, ca flirte avec Motley Crüe (comment une merde pareille peut elle revenir à la mode ??) et là on se dit « c’est foutu » et puis non les gars attaquent « back in the days », une sorte de « let there be rock » punk and soul et c’est grand. Ensuite viendra l’heure du blues, du boogie et du Southern rock. Il semble que LP ne veuille pas s’ennuyer ni ennuyer l’auditeur. Malgré une petite baisse de régime vers la fin, il y réussit pleinement. Du bon boulot.

THE RISE AND THE FALL (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
At first listen it seems OK, but as it grows on you it's actually pretty good. They caught the true ambience of American Rock N Roll! So I guess the Lucky Punch they threw, landed in a good spot!

SPUNK (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
First off all, great cover! This is some pretty good hard hitting rock & roll. A couple songs were catchy a couple songs had good guitar licks a couple songs rocked. What more do you want in a rock CD. Great cover, great guitar work. Solid album with 12 songs check out their web-site www.theluckypunch.com.

GREEN HELL (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Nach den Gee Strings bereits die zweite deutsche Band auf Dead Beat, der sich verstärkt um die europäische Szene kümmert und immer noch mit erstaunlicher Beständigkeit ein Highlight nach dem anderen veröffentlicht. The Lucky Punch stammen aus München und passen hervorragend in das Labelprogramm neben andere High NRG Rocker wie die Knockout Pills, Bad Machine, Safety Pins, Hellbenders, Sunday Drunks, usw. Auf "Kick up a hullabaloo" gibt es 12 mal feinsten Action Rock in bester Hellacopters Manier - feist und dreckig raus gerotzt mit breiten 70ies Riffs und einer richtig guten Produktion. Kompliment! Das Vinyl hat übrigens einen Bonus Song.

DEEP FRY BONANZA (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
The first thing you're likely to notice about Munich's the Lucky Punch is that their vocalist bears a downright uncanny resemblance to one Mr. Mark Arm. The second thing that you're likely to notice is that the whole damn band bear a marked resemblance to their Mudhoney counterparts. In other words, the Lucky Punch remind me a hell of a lot of Mudhoney at their absolute best, and Kick Up a Hulabaloo is jam-packed with twelve potential hits (thirteen on the vinyl) that are every bit as good as songs like "Touch Me I'm Sick" and "Suck You Dry."

I think the Lucky Punch are well aware of how good they are, too, judging by the title of the first track, "A Hell of a Ride." I've heard few more apt song titles before, as "A Hell of a Ride" is not only one hell of a ride in and of itself, it also signals that you're about to go on one hell of an album-length riff-tastic journey. As you make your way from "A Hell of a Ride" to the infectious "...Just Keep on Goin'" (I will, thank you!) all the way to the final track, the Lucky Punch can't help but keep your attention with great riffs, powerful vocals and song structures that feel suitably loose but not incoherent.

If you're into Dead Beat's "sound" this should certainly be on your to-buy list, as the Lucky Punch combine Heartbreakers-esque sleeze with more modern underground punk sounds better than pretty much any of the label's other bands. As for those of you who haven't yet dipped into Dead Beat's catalog, this is a damn good place to start.

HIGH BIAS (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Munich's Lucky Punch proves that Scandinavia doesn't have a monopoly on nuevo retro guitar rock. Though the Hellacopters seem to be the guiding light to which the band prays, Kick Up a Hullabaloo gets past the clone tag by boasting sturdy songwriting and a wild-eyed enthusiasm that puts more adrenalin in the tunes than the Hulk has in his bloodstream. Tunes like the perfectly apt opener "A Hell of a Ride," "So What You Gonna Do About It?" and "Wake Up Girl (You're Just Being Used)" rock like muthas, waving their riffs and attitude in your face with zero shame. The Lucky Punch won't get many points for originality, but with rock & roll this fine, who the hell cares? (Michael Toland)

OX (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Rock also. Schon seit ein paar Jahren schrammeln THE LUCKY PUNCH von München aus die fette Langmähnen-Nummer mit den langen Riffs durch die Gegend. Gespielt haben sie schon mit Bands wie MONSTER MAGNET, HELLACOPTERS, NEW BOMB TURKS, es gab ein paar eigenproduzierte EPs und jetzt also der internationale Flair mit dem Debüt-Album bei Dead Beat aus Los Angeles.

Herausgekommen ist eine recht raue, aber trotzdem sehr fett produzierte Geschichte mit viel Siebziger-Hardrock drin, an manchen Stellen durchaus etwas durchsetzt mit Punkrock. Im Großen und Ganzen jedoch ist "Kick Up A Hullabaloo" schon sehr auf der Rockschiene unterwegs, mit fiesen Gitarren-Riffs für die Luftgitarren-Karaoke im Wohnzimmer dazwischen.

Wer auf so etwas steht, wird das mögen. Und wer nicht unbedingt CDs kauft: Auf der Vinyl-Version gibt es noch einen Bonus-Song.

ODYSSEY (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Yes, I know that they're another "rawk band" and like you, I'm starting to get a bit more skeptical these days, but man, these guys wail (aside from a name that I still have trouble remembering). The singer Marco Knarco sounds like a cross between Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, there's all the guitar solos that you'd need out of a rock n' roll record, the production is loud, huge and in your face, and these boys actually know how to write songs, rather than just cock rock it until it just sounds like a mess of.... riffage. I've listened to this damn thing probably thirty times. I love the guitar tones/ sound here, and the fact that they throw some acoustic guitars in every now and then adds some dimension to it, as well. Sure it's really derivative of the Hellacopters, bordering on near plagiarism (esp. "You Never Know What You Haven't Tried"). But when a band can almost outdo the band that they're soundin' like, you know the 'Copters are looking over their shoulders.

FLYING REVOLVERBLATT (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Glückwunsch! Nachdem sich The Lucky Punch jahrelang den Arsch abgespielt haben, dabei mit allen möglichen namhaften Action-Rock-Bands die Bühne teilten und eigene Kosten und Mühen nicht scheuten, nimmt sich nun endlich eine Plattenfirma der Münchner Band an. Und zwar eine amerikanische, denn vom sonnigen Los Angeles aus wirkt der vermeintliche Standortnachteil der Isarstadt offenbar weit geringer; dort weiß man zu schätzen, wenn ein paar Jungs aus Europa gekonnt amerikanischen Rock'n'Roll spielen. Nichts anderes ist ja auch der sogenannte "Schwedenrock", wie die Turpentines schon mit ihrem Debutalbum deutlich machten. Nur dass "die Schweden" das in den letzten Jahren eben besser hinbekommen haben, als die Amis. Das man das vereinzelt auch in Deutschland kann, zeigen u.a. The Lucky Punch, wobei hier vor Verwechslungsgefahr gewarnt sei, denn auch weniger zu empfehlende Truppen sind unter diesem Namen unterwegs. "Kick Up For a Hullabaloo" jedenfalls braucht sich hinter den Werken der skandinavischen Kollegen nicht zu verstecken. Schade, dass wilder, lauter Rock'n'Roll heutzutage von Plattenfirmen, Konsumenten und den Chicks nicht mehr so geschätzt wird wie "Back in the Days" in denen die Jungs geboren wurden, wie sie es selbst in einem der Smasher des Albums beklagen. Gut, dass es auch in Deutschland Bands gibt, die sich davon nicht abhalten lassen. huc

SLEAZEGRUINDER (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Superior firepower from this gang of Munich slash n’ burners. The Lucky Punch (which I have never had, by the way, not even once) are like the Hives without the jive, and with an extra dose of 70’s arena rawk runnin’ through their bones. The riffs fly at you like Chinese stars in a Sonny Chiba movie, the hooks are mountainous, and there’s an air of total fuckin’ victory here so palpable you can snort it. For the price of one measly handjob, you can get the honky-tonkin’ Segerboogie of the title track, the full-bore power rock anthem “Hell of a Ride”, the ZZ-topisms of “So What You Gonna Do About It” and lots of other swanky numbers. “Back in the Days”, for example, is a dead-on throwback to ‘story rock’ like AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” or, well, just about anything by Black Oak Arkansas, which is just perfect for a song ABOUT 70’s FM rock. A tasty and tasteful ode to the superbosses of yore. If you want a little Backyard Babies style flash rock, check out the relentless “Never Gonna Know What You Haven’t Tried”, or if yer in the mood for shit-kicker tinged van rock, dig closer “Far Out (Still Trying to Get Back in)”. I guess what I mean to say is, if yer looking for just about ANY kinda rock – the manly, running with the wolves stuff, I mean- then Lucky Punch is for you, even if they have way too many words in their titles. Consider the Hullabaloo well fuckin’ kicked.

HOUSE OF SMUT (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat) Any form of rock or punk which incorporates elements of hard rock or metal will always serve as a source of contention for purists. Too bad for them, because being cursed with such tunnel vision can really deprive one of some great music. Hopefully, nonsense like that won't keep people away from the Lucky Punch. Their album Kick Up A Hullabaloo is a prime slab of high octane firepower and superb songsmithing.

The Lucky Punch sound falls squarely into the action rock catagory. Kick Up A Hullabaloo boasts garagey hard rock in the vein of the rawest moments from Gluecifer and the Hellacopters. The difference between these guys and everyone else in that pack is their ability to get dynamic without things sounding like a puss out. In fact, Kick Up A Hullabaloo is the finest slab of action rock since Cheerleader666's all-time champion offering Gutter Days. This is extremely welcome and fresh stuff.

Songwriting is really the area where the Lucky Punch separate themselves from the pretenders and once-weres. Tracks like "You Got Me Goin'" capture a decidedly Hella-fied slant but these guys also manage to pull off things most other bands of their ilk can only dream of. "Never Gonna Know What You Haven't Tried" comes off fairly straightforward, yet its main riff is cooly lopsided with a chunky dip coming in the chorus lick. "Why Don't You Spend A Minute" seems to be filtered through soulful funk, while "Back In The Days" sees the Lucky Punch at their dynamic best. In the end though, top honors go to the midtempoed boogie of the title track, which manages to channel AC/DC a bit without feeling contrived, and the very cool strummed lick in the album opening "A Hell Of A Ride."

If this style of rock n' roll is your main bag, Kick Up A Hullabaloo is destined to become an all-time fave. Folks who started to shy away from this stuff once the big names slipped a peg or two should likewise be re-energized by the Lucky Punch. Regardless, this is an amazing album and a mindblowing surprise for the uninitiated. Keep an eye on these guys.

NO BRAINS (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Snotty hard rockin' punk as we usually get from Scandianavia. Only, The Lucky Punch are from Germany, but who cares. More 70s influenced in MC5 vain, than we usually get from Dead Beat. If you like bands like early Hellacopters, Gluecifer, Monster Magnet - you should try The Lucky Punch. Well, they are little less heavy and more rockin' and punk.

I 94 BAR (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
During my brief tenure in Canberra many years ago, I shared a house with a German post-graduate student. At one stage one of his German friends came over to Australia for a visit, and we spent a night in our backyard drinking Resch's Dinner Ale and listening to my music collection. As the ale flowed, the Germans decided to start singing German language versions of Led Zeppelin, Nick Cave, The Pogues and AC/DC. It was going so well, until my housemate's friend fell off his banana lounge in a drunken stupour, where we left him while we tried to contain our laughter (and resist the temptation to do what Australian men are prone to doing to other men who pass out after too
much alcohol).

What's the relevance of this self-indulgent anecdote? Little, except that it demonstrated to me that Germany has its fair share of aficionados of pub rock who are able to give a unique cultural interpretation on that tried and tested genre. Lucky Punch demonstrate the point further. Their new album, "Kick Up a Hullabaloo", is an album full of rockin' pub tunes that conjures up images of thrashing heads and long hair bouncing to a straight 4/4 beat. But rather than produce a collection of AC/DC and Led Zep covers, this is rapid paced garage blues with a jazz boogie-woogie injection.

"A Hell of a Ride" opens the album and sets the scene for what's to come, with a tight rolling blues rock riff providing the basis for the eventual descent into wailing metal rock solo territory. The appropriately title ... just keep on goin' does just that, without exhibiting much to spur it on. The album's funkiest tune, "Back in the Days", owes a serious debt of gratitude to AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock", with a lyrical narrative describing days of yore when rock was all knowing, all powerful and all pervasive.

So what you gona do about it? and Kick up a hullabaloo take the foot off the accelerator, lounging back into a more classic country blues feel, while "Behind the Smile" and "You Got Me Goin' "suggest a FM-friendly generic rock feel. Why don't you spend a minute starts out suspiciously similar to Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" but the rock preacher lyrics more than make up for any suspected plagiarism.

"Wake Up Girl" opens politely with a soft, acoustic intro before bursting violently into some invigorating cock rock. The album's concluding track, "Far Out (Still Tryin' to Get Back In)" ends proceedings with some eminently danceable garage country blues.

This is rockin', entertaining stuff, without for a moment pretending to be ground breaking. Throw it on the stereo with some spicy bratwurst sausages and some decent German lager and bang your head. - Patrick Emery

TERMINAL BOREDOM (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
I've gone to the well far too often with this take on Dead Beat releases, but...if you like the mid-'90s Junk Rock aesthetic, this is a good release. In fact, I'd say it's one of the best of the ilk I've heard in a long time. I mean, most of this stuff makes me run screaming from the room, but The Lucky Punch are a really good band that doesn't go for the obvious, and I've listened to this several times (for actual-pleasure) since receiving it. I'll probably shelve it again for time-capsule replay in a few years, in which time bad memories of Dragons (& twenty other bands) overload will be outta my head. If you dig stuff like the Candy Snatchers, Hellbenders, Mud City Manglers & other bands of that general design, you'll love this record. (TK)

NOW WAVE (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Yep, it’s definitely a rock ’n’ roll racket. When I throw together another collection of ass-kicking, radio-ripping, road-terrorizing garage/punk/rock tunes, “A Hell Of A Ride” will find a prominent place among Turbonegro and Glucifer. It’s alternately hooky and rocky, catchy, and flat-out searing. Very hot.

After that, though, things don’t immediately strike my fancy. “Just Keep On Goin’” does just that. I realize that this band has its roots in the more durable, full, “epic” 70’s rock, when people were using terms like “mountains of riffs” and “Rock Gods of Thunder” so forth, but I don’t need a four-minute rock climb; I’d much rather take on two two-minute tunes of rolling hills. To each his own, though. “Twisted Feelings” and “Back In The Days” are pretty catchy.

Furthermore, the band has great chops. Marco Knarco has real frontman-style vocals, emitting grand growly rock vox with a bit of a southern drawl (which is odd, as I hear they hail from Munich) and belts out a super “Yeeeeoooow!” whenever appropriate. The main guitarist, Jacek Dworock, is awesome. He throws in some catchy (might I even say inventive?) licks throughout many songs. Sometimes he’s punching out your typical but decent rock sounds, other times it’s really poppy, and many times it’s got bluesy-twang action (as heard on the title-track), with some surprisingly powerful harmonica accompaniment. “Wake Up Girl (You’re Just Being Used)” even has an acoustic opening; there’s no lack of diversity on this album. All elements come together on another standout, “Never Gonna Know What You Haven’t Tried” (which is, albeit, another lengthy rock bomb, but damn it’s explosive!)

They just finshed a tour with Monster Magnet, which I think is very, very fitting. *

*I like Monster Magnet; they’re a great singles band, stoner rock or not.

PLEASE KILL YOURSELF (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Hailing from Munich, Germany The Lucky Punch are true Rock "n" Roll. This is the best thing I have ever heard on Dead Beat Records (and their last 10 releases have been fucking great). The comparisons to all those Swedish bands probably comes out in every review of this band but I think they are more of a mix of AC/DC and The Stooges. You know,kind of like The Hangmen. Lets start at the beginning. "Hell Of A Ride" is a hot fast rocker made for driving on the freeway at like 100 MPH. Then "Just Keep It Going" grooves you into a nice high. Slide into the next track "Twisted Feelings" and just enjoy that feeling to the very end. I would say some good drunken sex would be a nice way to spend your time with this record, but after a second thought, Blowjobs in the car outside of a great dive bar is way better. This years best true Rockout record. It gave me the same chills I got when I heard "Apocalypse Dudes" for the first time. Just truly amazing! (Bill Fool)

X2RNR (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
These guys deliver 70’s styled Rock (minus the roll). I can see fans of the Hellacopters or the Supersuckers or Turbonegro diggin’ this stuff. Perhaps some of the acoustic intro’s are a bit much, but all in all a good showing. Further proof that Europeans love butt rock.

IN YOUR FACE (LUCKY PUNCH- Kick Up a Hullabaloo LP/CD,Dead Beat)
Ist schon bezeichnend, daß eine in München ansässige Band in Eigenregie eine EP nach der anderen raushaut und dann mit ihrem Longplayer orginal in den USA ein Label findet! So kaputt ist unser Musikmarkt, daß sich keine Sau in Deutschlands Plattenfirmen-Big-Business für eine Band mit so großem Potential wie THE LUCKY PUNCH zu interessieren scheint. Traurig, und das bei den meisterlichen Live-Referenzen, die hier aufgefahren werden können. Diese Jungs haben mit allen namenhaften Schweine-Rock-Bands gespielt. Wirklich mit allen! Da wären die BACKYARD BABIES zu nennen, die HELLACOPTERS, die PEEPSHOWS, sogar Legenden wie MOTÖRHEAD! Unfaßbar, daß THE LUCKY PUNCH in Deutschland kein Label haben! Skandal!!!

Diese sehr fleißige Band, was Live-Gigs angeht, steht auch musikalisch ihren Genre-Kollegen in nichts nach. "Kick Up A Hullabaloo" beschert einem eine Arschtritt-Rock'n'Roll-Nummer nach der anderen. Mal klingen sie nach den punkrockigeren alten PEEPSHOWS Scheiben, manchmal, wenn der Seventies-Einfluß durchkommt, erinnern sie auch recht stark an die HELLACOPTERS. Marco Knarco, der Sänger der Band hat eine saurotzige Stimme, diese fetten Gitarrenläufe... wow. Das ist wirklich HELLACOPTERS-mäßig! Aber keine Sorge, sollte man jetzt annehmen, THE LUCKY PUNCH kopieren nur, dann liegt man falsch. "Kick Up A Hullabaloo" ist bei aller Artverwandtheit ein absolut eigenständiges Album und muss sich hinter nichts und niemand verstecken.

Schön, daß die wahre Rock'n'Roller-Seele auch mal von einer deutschen Band gefüttert wird und sowas nicht immer nur aus Schweden kommt. Vielleicht sollten THE LUCKY PUNCH nach Stockholm ziehen?! Germany is too small for you guys! ROOOAAAWK!