It’s always dangerous when a band become closely aligned with musical movements; they come in peaks and waves, and when they crash, a band can become beached, and with no appreciative crowd to play to. Forming in 1972, Cock Sparrer predate both punk and oi!, yet their fortunes got inextricably tied to both after being included on several generic compilations. However, the band were influenced by glam, pub rock and ‘60s beat groups like The Who, and that rawness has been a key component of their sound ever since. That’s precisely what their latest album Hand On Heart serves up; ten no-nonsense blasts hard rock that could teach the young pretenders a lesson (or three).
That the band remain relevant becomes immediately obvious with the amphetamine-infused opening track ‘With My Hand On My Heart’. It’s an anthemic slab of punchy rock that says all it has to in a rowdy two-and-a-half minutes. There’s no excess fat or meat on the bones; just the sound of a band doing what they do best and serving up songs that will please themselves, and by extension, their core fanbase. ‘With My Hand On My Heart’ is (like its nine compatriots) a song that will transfer well to the live environment, and you can almost see the fists pumping the air and the sheer joy this will bring to the multitudes. And just like a Cock Sparrer gig, this album delivers a succession of quick blows that leaves the listener slightly concussed (but in the best possible way, of course). Alongside ‘With My Hand On My Heart’, ‘Mind Your Own Business’ makes for the perfect one-two punch, and don’t be surprised if this combination opens up the band’s live show (and if you’ve yet to have that privilege, you need to rectify this as soon as possible). Like an electrode to the testicles, ‘Mind Your Own Business’ is spiky and angular and could shock even the most ardent somnambulist from their revere.
When British punk broke in 1976, Cock Sparrer were always a touch “too real” for the art school side of punk, and while many bands of that ilk burned briefly, Cock Sparrer’s loyalty to their roots has ensured a longevity at which many of their peers can only marvel. Subsequently, you won’t find any abstract lyricism here, just songs based in hard cold reality that come wrapped up in life-affirming, sing-along tunes. Never have life’s struggles sounded as good as ‘Take It On The Chin’ and ‘My Forgotten Dream’, and while much first wave punk sounds firmly rooted in time, the tracks comprising Hand On Heart have a timeless quality (much like their ‘82 album, Shock Troops). Still featuring the band’s four original members (along with Daryl Smith who joined in 1992), Cock Sparrer have a chemistry that oils these songs nicely, there’s a feeling that the band are happy in their own company, and that make parting shot ‘Here We Stand’ a thing of joy, rather than a sorrowful goodbye on what could (could) be their final album.
As the strings (real, not computer generated) on ‘My Forgotten Dream’ amply prove, Cock Sparrer aren’t adverse to taking the odd risk, and it’s precisely this ethos that makes this album a winner, and I mean that…’With My Hand On My Heart’.
- Hand On Heart is released via Cherry Red Records on 5th April 2024.
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Track List:
- With My Hand On My Heart
- Mind Your Own Business
- I Belong To You
- Rags To Riches
- No Way Out
- Take It On The Chin
- Nowhere To Be Found
- One Way Ticket
- My Forgotten Dream
- Here We Stand
