Swing Ding Amigos – Kings of Culo / 2005 Recess / 14 Tracks / http://www.swingdingamigos.com / http://www.recessrecords.com / Reviewed 07 October 2005

The speed in which the Swing Ding Amigos start off “Pinokiak” is an immediate system shock for those who just look at the disc and see three country-looking motherfuckers. For those who are actually into the band, this is an immediate epi-pen to the heart, something that really stoked the fires before the band starts to move back to a seventies-rock sound with “Atta Boy Cowboy”. However chaotic the tracks on “Kings of Culo” may be, the fact is that the Amigos are masters of creating catchy harmony out of seemingly nothing. There are threads in both of the first few tracks on the disc that will effect listeners emotionally even if the exterior proves gruff.

When each of the track is lucky to break the two-minute mark, there is little time for long, drawn-out openings and artistic constructs. This urgency really forces listeners to be on their toes and ready to convulse at the drop of a hat. There is not the typical amount of filler on this disc, as the band simply allows the groove that they have created to burn out; to beat a dead horse is not in the Amigos’ nature (even if their hats might say otherwise). While the aural similarity between tracks is present (listen to the opening to “Akurrukame” and “Ninak Attacks” for what I mean, the fact is that each one of these tracks is just another puzzle pieces into the diverse web of influences that really fuel the band. There are hints of Boston, Kiss, UFO, and even Refused and Agnostic Front strewn throughout “Kings of Culo”, and it is perhaps this piecemeal sound that is so compelling.

While the lyrics come into some form of audible legibility only a few times during the disc (Voltron is a key example), the fact is that it may just be a good thing that individuals can’t usually understand the band (from Pinokiak; “The bathroom door is locked, it’s shut. I sit around for what seems like hours”). Anyways, the rap-style of the lyrics for “To My Niggas in the South” work perfect with the Thin Lizzy / Gluecifer crunch; only a band as off-the-wall and intense as the Swing Ding Amigos would be able to pull this off without a note of irony anywhere on the disc. Less than a half-hour, the tracks on “Kings of Culo” will blast past a listener in what will feel like a blink of an eye; strong, spastic and over-the-top, this is what music needs now.

Top Tracks: Sweet Pill, To My Niggas in the South

Rating: 7.4/10

[JMcQ]