First album for eight years and they’re in contrary mood

At times like this, blokes like me who review records are almost duty bound to state the blindingly obvious. And never let it be said that MV will buck the trend, so here goes….

CKY contains Jess Margera, brother of Bam the star of Jackass. There, see, we’ve done it.

Now, if like us, you haven’t found anything funny for about 30 years and your idea of comedy is the Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials, that might be met with a shrug. It is however, a different matter when it comes to the band.

Because for 20 years CKY have largely set about being better than you ever imagined they could be and being a phenomenal live act.

“The Phoenix” is their first studio album for eight years and the first without singer Deron Miller. This has just meant that Chad I Ginsburg has moved to lead vocals, and with long-time associate Matt Deis back on drums they have basically picked up where they left off with 2009’s brilliant “Carver City”.

For they may be older, they might (possibly) be wiser, but they’ve still got the same wilful disregard for expectations and rules. Because woe betide anyone that tries to pin them down. You never could, and you never will on the evidence of the eight tracks here.

One minute they are all stomping glam rock – coming on like an updated version of T-Rex for the shiny “Replaceable”, handclaps and all – while the next they are taking a walk down some darker paths for “The Days Of Self Destruction.”

But, there is one common thread that binds all these disparate songs together. Hooks. And if you aren’t waving your fist in the air by the end of any of the cuts here, then you might want to check your pulse.

Good god, there’s even a reggae like pulse about “Unknown Enemy” and “Head For A Breakdown” is a mid-paced almost ballad like affair but is insanely catchy.

That’s what they do, and that’s why the likes of Guns n Roses personally asked them out on the road in the past.

Absolutely at their best when they are brash and unapologetic, like on “The Other Ones”, with its screeching guitars and glorious devil may care attitude, although “Wiping Of The Dead” sees them in a darker, more downtuned Alice In Chains type mood, as if to prove that they’ll do precisely what they want.

“Lies From You” is a punky slammer, with the summery harmonies that pervade elsewhere, and “Better Than Get Even” mixes Beatles style psychedelics with a distinctly danceable quality, allied to a threat of violence.

And if what you’re thinking is that shouldn’t work then you’re probably right, if you think it wouldn’t, then you don’t know CKY. On “The Phoenix” one of the most original bands is again on the rise.

Rating 8/10