Luger Boa - Mutate Or Die

Mon 15th Jun, 2009 in Music Reviews

After New Zealand band The D4 called it quits in 2006, singer/guitarist Jimmy Christmas set about working on a new project he would eventually name Luger Boa. Mutate or Die is their debut album, which is essentially a solo album for Christmas, joined in the studio by Manny Bourakis (The Galvatrons) on drums and bassist Karl Kippenberger (Shihad).

Christmas hasn’t made any stylistic leaps into acoustic singer-songwriter territory here. Instead he sticks close to the unhinged punk-tinged rock moves of The D4, but adds some – œ70s glam swagger and an anthemic modern sheen to the album. The themes of relationships and evolution stand out across Mutate Or Die with the title track and Humans Rule talking about changing times and adapting to one’s environmental adaptation. “Everybody is fighting to survive / All the creatures are trying to stay or live / Mutate before it’s too late,” sings Christmas.

Luger Boa is all about loud guitars and big melodic choruses which provide the most attractive elements of the album. Most songs follow the template of a strutting, restrained verse before exploding into a big and colourful chorus. Songs like On My Mind, What Is Real? and It’s Too Complicated boast infectious melodies that border on cheesy but remain eternally hummable and catchy. You can almost see the bouncing sweaty crowd at a packed venue singing along in unison, fists pumping. It is unabashed good time rock – œn roll delivered with a refreshing lack of pretension.

In 1000 Hooks, Christmas does a fine Eagles Of Death Metal impression, keying into the glam strutting and preening sound that – œ70s-style rock did so well the first time round. Elsewhere Kiss and even The Darkness emerge as influences when Christmas veers away from the punk and settles into firmer rocky ground.

The Datsuns, The D4 and various primal rocking Australian bands have travelled this road many times. However, through sheer exuberance Christmas has managed to stay on the right side of cartoon rock, in the process showing he can write a catchy melody with surging guitars as good as anyone out there. It seems he has taken his own advice by mutating rather than falling back on past glories.

Mutate Or Die is out now through Warner Music.