BOONARAAAS!!!

5 Steps Ahead LP/CD

How can a bunch of young German ladies have such a beat on mixing up the perfect blend of Garage and Punk? As soon as "Out of sight" comes frugging out of the traps it's clear to everyone. Those horns, the Johnny Thunders-esque guitars, one minute forty three seconds in and they've delivered more thrills than most combos can drum up in an entire career.

This isn't just another of paint by numbers period piece, it's the real deal. The result of taking it slow and getting it right. Building on something special and taking it to the next level.

Even though the framework of the music is built on fragments of the past, it sounds very fresh and vital. More so than many of the individual elements that inspire it. The idea of covering Fabian's "Stop thief!" might seem daft in lesser hands but the gender is switched to recreate it as stellar girl group fare.

Patricia's rich, sassy vocal is all the more groovy because of her accent. Guitars wail and weave and the rhythm foundation is rock solid. Authenticity is one thing but it don't mean diddley if it doesn't come from the heart.

There's plenty of that plus a hefty helping of soul too. It's very fitting that the album is on Kassel based Sounds Of Subterrania because that's where it all began for me at a Lolitabar gig during the Punk-Kongress.

Four girls got on stage and over the course of a short set simply blew me away. It was quite a night. "5 Steps Ahead" clocks in at just under 30 minutes. Its 13 tracks are a short, sharp example that there is at least one band out there that you can believe in.

"Hard To Be A Girl" and "It Won't Last Too Long" are perfect singles and if there was any justice then they'd be crashing charts all over the world. Then they'd be launching dolls of the girls, a clothing line and maybe even a fragrance.

There are stellar harmonics at play all though the album. Strange frequencies like you used to hear on RAMONES records that quite possibly weren't or aren't there. The kind of spirits that evoke the power of real rock and roll.

The sort that is somewhat rare these days. In these days of MySpace and the like you can go and check the music out for yourself. If you tune in and this doesn't affect you then you're a lost cause.

Groups may be able to ape Boonaraaa style but they'll never get the chemistry. The bands ability to come up with originals that stand up alongside cool covers is another real plus. Like seasoned veterans such as THE NOMADS, or THE CRAMPS, or THE FLESHTONES they make them their own rather than just bash out a straight copy.

There is so much potential here and I hope you can hear what I hear ... (10)