Musical taste is cyclical. Sounds and styles simmer in the underground before boiling up into the mainstream for consumption by the masses. Eventually their bowls are empty and the leftovers packaged up for storage in the freezer. Weeks, months, years later these morsels from the past are retrieved by those hungry for a delicious reminder of meals gone by and lovingly reheated, except this time the portions are smaller enabling fewer people to enjoy the old favorites. Rumor of the delicious leftovers spread and many cooks try their hand at the recipe, each one adding their own signature flair; a little spice here, a pinch of salt there. Before you know it, the dish is popular again, but soon enough the bowls will once again be emptied and the favorite flavors returned to cold storage.
Ricky Hell & The Voidboys have stumbled on something delicious with the first single from their upcoming sophomore album L’Appel Du Vide (French for “the call of the void”), a tasty throwback to the alternative sounds of the mid-1980s. High, chiming guitars filtered through a wall of hazy static. Flat, workman like percussion. A bassline that exists less like actual sound and more like a suggestion urging you to dance just a little, but not too much. All the necessary ingredients are present and accounted for in their proper amounts.
The flavor is immediately familiar, nearly identical to the 1985 single by The Jesus And Mary Chain, “Just Like Honey.” There is so much similarity between that classic gem and Ricky Hell’s latest it tastes as if each track could have occupied its own side on a split 7” supporting a fictional joint tour had the releases not been separated by the cavernous gulf of 34 years. But Ricky Hell & The Voidboys didn’t simply copy The Jesus And Mary Chain’s recipe for success, they slyly spiked their song with a nearly lethal dose of “Strychnine.”
Lyrically the song is uncomplicated and addresses familiar subject matter, a protagonist pining for a romantic panacea but instead nearly overdoses on memories of a toxic relationship. It’s the simple repetition and delicate delivery, accented by a lilting feminine backing vocal, that really makes the track sting with the danger of misguided nostalgia. The accompanying video by analog visual artist Sztuka Naiwna supports the music with heavily distorted, worn out VHS visuals that stylistically would have been commonplace on the early days of MTV’s 120 Minutes and have been aesthetically synonymous with alternative music since the dawn of the genre. The interplay between the music and the static-y images of wistfully remembered happiness is impactfully saudade and the pairing makes for a full course feel with just a hint of the bitter taste of poison in the gravy to keep you on your toes.
It’s a good song, hearty musical comfort food, and like any home-cooked meal you will absolutely go back for seconds. Ricky Hell & The Voidboys are setting a table large enough for everyone on December 6th at The Broadway to celebrate the release of the album, so come hungry and enjoy the musical feast.
“Strychnine” is featured on L’Appel Du Vide, releasing December 6th on Greenway Records. You can pre-order the album here — first 45 copies (shown above) will be limited edition infinity splatter vinyl.
