The Tenebrous Liar – Run Run Run

Anyone who remembers with faint disappointment when the White Stripes and their ilk were the ‘saviours of rock and roll’ would do well to have a listen to The Tenebrous Liar, unholy spawn of noted music photographer Steve Gullick, because this has all the sordid appeal that rock music should have.

Take The Sickness for example, muted guitars and steady snare transformed with the crash of a cymbal into a wave of distortion and noise, all overlaid with Gullick’s sensuously slurred vocals. This is an album that is as at home on the shelf next to Johnny Cash as to The Stooges and it seems to be driving headfirst into the black heart of America, a goal that is matched by its stark artwork. Whilst it is true that this kind of grimy rock has been done to death in the past, it’s rare that it’s done with this much menace. [David Bowes]