It's hard to think of a more influential individual in the Southern Ontario (that's south of Toronto) music scene than Steve Stumble. Since first appearing as a member of The Sick Boys in the mid-Nineties, Stumble has established himself as a fixture in the local punk rock community there; he founded Stumble Records in 1998 (which has since played home to a stable of great punk and rockabilly bands including Knucklehead, The Matadors, The Mahones and more) established and continues to organize the annual SCENE music festival in St. Catharines, and has been the promoter for innumerable punk rock and rockabilly shows and presentations around the Niagara Region over the years. Simply said, Steve Stumble is an institution; he's been promoting shows longer than many of the current clutch of venues there have been open (honorable mention to The Mansion House) and while there would still be a music scene there without him, it probably wouldn't look or sound or be as well-organized without him.
As much as the punks and zombies south of Toronto are willing to praise Stumble for his achievements, they need more than that to keep a high regard of anyone. That might have been why Stumble has tried to launch his Lucky Ones a couple of times now, but it just hasn't gone right somehow. For one reason or another, the music just hasn't had the punch and, in the parlance of the neighborhood, The Lucky Ones needed to get their shit together to prove they should have a shot, or risk becoming a joke. Happily though, the pieces have finally lined up with Heartbreak, Hangovers & Punk Rock.
It would be impossible to say that Heartbreak, Hangovers & Punk Rock is uncharted territory for Stumble but, on their new album, The Lucky Ones have re-discovered the darker alleys and parking lots behind St. Paul Street, gotten a little hungry again and started playing with their hearts and fists rather than their heads. That might not sound like a glowing endorsement, but it really, really is; from the moment “Summer In The Street” launches the album, listeners will be able to actively feel their pulses rise and lips curl into a sneer as bassist Robbie Knux, guitarist Christ Nowicki and drummer Matt Murphy slam into a sublime, socially lubricated gear and push Stumble into the middle of the pit – where he proves he can still punch his weight. The sound is immediately classic pop-and-gutter punk as only Niagarans can produce it (flecks of The Dropkick Murphys, Rancid and Forgotten Rebels are the order of the day) and, while locals will be thrilled that the band is able to do this, everyone else will marvel at how vibrant and flat-out mean the sound is; while other newer and younger punk bands have hinted that they might not be the guys to mess with these days, The Lucky Ones flat-out command attention. The good times keep on rolling and the band's party only gets hardier as songs like “Road Dog,” “Great Minds (Drink Alike),” “I Got Booze” and “Sold My Soul” get drunker and happier, and cause listeners to remember the days when everybody – everybody – was just waiting for the weekend beer bash so they could cut loose and have fun with songs just like these as the soundtrack. That sort of recollection seems guaranteed to make listeners of the right mind and experience instant fans of Heartbreak, Hangovers & Punk Rock.
Artist:
www.stumblerecords.com/
www.myspace.com/theluckyonespunk
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lucky-Ones/
Album:
Heartbreak, Hangovers & Punk Rock will be released on February 21, 2012 by Stumble Records, pre-order it here on Amazon .
