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JIZZY PEARL
Crucified EP

Self-released (2014)
Rating: 9/10

Back in 1990 a Los Angeles-based band called Love/Hate blew me away with their debut opus Blackout In The Red Room. It was an album so great, dirty, sleazy, swaggering and explosive that I fully expected these guys to blow Guns N’ Roses out of the water in terms of sales and impact.

Sadly, like all really cool bands Love/Hate became more of a cult act who over a number of years remained popular on the club circuit, and released some brilliant albums without achieving the major success they deserved.

Over time, like so many bands, Love/Hate suffered at the hands of a disinterested label, lack of support, musical trends and eventually by the time 2014 came round, were merely frontman Jizzy Pearl – a dynamic frontman with a voice that could strip wallpaper – who, eager not to cause hassle to former band members, decided on putting out this record under his own name after the threat of legal action from those he’d worked with previously (although this EP was briefly available digitally under the Love/Hate moniker).

So, Crucified, which could and should have been another riotous Love/Hate affair, is a six track mini-album which opens with the brisk punk frenzy of ‘Hanging You Out To Dry’. It’s a short, sharp swaggering shock featuring Jizzy’s distinctive rasp over a clatter drums and Motörhead-esque oily guitars which spit attitude. Sure, it is no ‘Tumbleweed’ or ‘Blackout In The Red Room’, but it’s delivered with menace as the solo winds itself around that chaotic punch before that superb snarling outro where Jizzy whines, “Nothing really matters when you ain’t got a chance, they’ll loot you and salute in your leather pants, you’ve got no pot to piss in and you just can’t dance” to a thrilling climax.

It’s punk rock at its best and yet the strain of ‘Sunny Day’ comes in complete contrast as a hazy, almost psychedelic buzz with churning riff. It’s simple yet effective with that swirling chorus of meandering solo and hissing percussion.

‘You’re Making Me Nervous’ doesn’t buck the trend; it’s another sweltering rocker with kicking drum as Jizzy wails, “Tell me why do you love me or hate me, do you want me to leave…”. It’s as if he’s baring his soul like he’s always done as the sweat drips from the walls and his vocal yap scratches the ears.

‘I Don’t Want To Be Your Baby’ lightens the mood with a dreamy acoustic intro, evoking images of the early 90s sleaze-ballad creations that wafts by on a summery organ before Jizzy barks, “It’s too late to say goodbye, it’s too late to hear you cryin’. I’ve seen enough of stormy days, I’ve had enough of your wicked ways”. Whether Jizzy Pearl is addressing his former band members we’ll never know, but it’s such a heartfelt track full of soul and simplicity. Such is its class it wouldn’t seem out of place on Wasted In America (1992), which cemented Love/Hate’s place in rock ’n’ roll history as one of the best bands to never make it big.

With ‘Love Is All’ there is a touch of Led Zeppelin-ish Eastern swirl about the intro, mingling The Beatles with that summery early 90s rock experimentation as Jizzy croons effortlessly amid the tip-tap of bongo drums and a whining guitar. Trippy and elusive, it’s a track of drug-fuelled kaleidoscopic imagery that meanders with no real intent yet works as some type of hallucinogenic mantra.

And then we reach the final piece of the jigsaw, the bluesy sway of ‘Too Late’ with Jizzy’s cry of “You’re running away, running away with the sun in your eyes” over a solo which snakes and a drum that plods to great effect.

And then we’re done, gagging for another six or so tracks to keep the legacy alive and to take us into the murky future. But as it stands, Jizzy Pearl is now the vocalist of Quiet Riot and when he wails, “You can’t go back, you can’t go back”, one can’t help shed a tear in memory of one of rock’s most colourful outfits that was fronted by such a potent voice.

Jizzy Pearl may believe that “ex-members just aren’t worth the hassle”, but what he’s produced here with these six songs is another reason as to why Love/Hate should exist and look beyond the politics. Alas, Crucified is a solo release – one that is way too short, and yet fantastic throughout.

Neil Arnold

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