DIGGERZ - A Psycho's Tales LP

Hailing from Essen in Germany, this is The Diggerz début release (even though they've been together for 5 years, the lazy bastards) on everyone's favourite record label Crazy Love. Without even listening to the music I immediately tipped my hat to them for the their usage of the correct punctuation in the word "Psycho's" in the album title. Yes, I am that anal (ooooh matron) when it comes to grammar. So, having been filled with glee and merriment from the offset, I proceeded to place my sextastic headphones over my manly ears and have an aural perusal of the sounds emanating from betwixt....oh for fuck sake..I don't half talk shite. I put on me headphones and had a listen to the album, right? What immediately struck me (well, after I completely ignored the intro) was the crisp, clean production that I love. Many albums have good songs but shite production. This has good songs coupled with erm....anti-shite production! That's right. It's the ANTI-SHITE! My favourite instrument of all time, the slap bass is right up there in the mix, the guitar sound is clean with bits of twang and reverb where necessary and not overdone. The drums are snappy and crunchy. Great so far. Will the vocalist piss on the whole thing? No. No he won't. HOORAH! I hear traces of Pitmen vocal stylings in his voice. Before I go on, I'm not going to start making comparisons but I'll make one more. Vocally the band are Pitmen-esque and muscially, Gorilla-esque  (but cleaner sounding). Now, back to The Diggerz sound itself and leaving aside possible influences and getting back to these vocals, fuck me what vocal range. Mo is one of thee best singers the psychobilly genre has to offer. The backing vocals are spot on too! When paired on some tracks it's almost like listening to Joy Division with quiffs. Also, you can't second-guess where each song is going. Unique melodies abound. The hardest thing to do now is pick a single track to stick up on YouTube for you to sample the greatness of this album.

The O'Prez

Tracklisting:

Intro

Forgotten Son

Breakout

Fresh Flesh

Dreamgirl

Hangover

BBQ On Lost Island

Jealousy

I Want Her

Set Me Free (Live)