The Rezillos return with first studio album in 4 decades!
Music News | Jan 10th, 2015
New Wave/Punk band The Rezillos are going to be releasing their first new studio album in almost 4 decades. The new album Return to Zero will be out March 10th via Metropolis Records. I never really listened to The Rezillos all that much but their cover of “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight” is something I’ve heard before…probably in Jackass: The Movie. If they can match the sound of their first album Can’t Stand the Rezillos, that will be awesome!
Formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976, The Rezillos rose out of the punk/new wave scene at the advent of the whole movement. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in that realm, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism of social commentary of some of their contemporaries, but took a more left-field approach to their songs, preferring to describe themselves at the time as “a New Wave beat group” more in line with B-52s and The Cramps then their more political peers.
Instead of latching onto new trends, The Rezillos have opted to retain their classic style and sound for ZERO. The opening track “Groovy Room” busts out with a blast of dynamic and youthful fresh air, heralding not only a return to form but proof positive that they can still rock with the same fire and intensity. The anthemic “Number One Boy” reeks of CBGB/Max’s Kansas City-styled garage while the balladic “She’s The Bad One” carries the plucky fierceness of Karen O backed by epic guitar textures.
Released in July 1978, the Rezillos’ only studio album Can’t Stand the Rezillos is now considered a classic album of the first wave of British punk. Pressed via Sire Records, the album included the top twenty UK hit “Top of the Pops”, and featured their version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight” which was subsequently used in Jackass, the Movie. Reaching number 16 in the UK Albums Chart, Trouser Press called the band “a blast of fresh air compared to the more serious bands of new wave’s first charge” and praised the album as “an action-packed document of their pop/camp approach”. The group split up sensationally only four months after its release, securing themselves iconic status. Principal songwriter and guitarist Jo Callis joined The Human League and penned some of their biggest hits including “Don’t You Want Me”, while vocalists Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife formed the Revillos, taking Fay and Eugene’s musical vision to a fanatical cult audience, in part where the Rezillos left off.
Punk aficionados continue to shower the album with praise. In 1994, All Time Top 1000 Albums named Can’t Stand the Rezillos one of the 50 best punk albums of all time, calling the band “exuberant almost to the point of hysteria” and creating “a body of work full of verve, style and humour”. In March 2003, MOJO ranked the LP in its “Top 50 Punk Albums”.
Zero promises to further consolidate their reputation for creating timeless, iconic music. They will be touring with The Stranglers in the UK in March and dates in the US in May.
The Rezillos is Fay Fife (vocals, theremin), Eugene Reynolds (vocals), Angel Paterson (drums), Jim Brady (guitar, backing vocals), and Chris Agnew (partial guitar). Zero was produced by Eugene Reynolds, Fay Fife and Jim Brady and will be released via Metropolis Records on March 10, 2015.
