Libertarian, free-thinker, scourge of intolerance - Voltaire embodies many of the values deemed in short supply these days. He wasn't quite the 18th Century subversive many think he was, or should have been, but there is a spunky anti-establishment feel to Leeds band The Voltaires which can only add to his reputation as one - I may edit his Wiki page and see what happens.
As well as citing the influences that leapt out when I played the debut album 'The Voltaires' for the first of many times over the Easter weekend (Dead Kennedys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Damned), The Ramones-like cacophony of the drumming, the snotty riffs that could have been lifted from any 1960s US garage or Gareth Williams's high-tensile vocals - what REALLY impresses me about this album is the cohesive whole. It gels in a way that mere collections of songs don't - a high octane sugar rush without a spare calorie - you won't get fat listening to it, the isotonic melodies emerge from the leanness and the filthy fuzzy guitars give it heft and hoof - deceptively intelligent stuff.
The album can be bought as a limited edition CD or download from here
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