Release year: 2024
Label: Western Star Records

Apparently, UK psychobilly act The Bad Roaches only ever recorded this one album and that was pretty much it. And for whatever reason, it remained unreleased for 13 years: recorded in 2011, this 2024 release is the first time it sees the light of day.

Considering the band were hardly a major name or even one with a notable cult following, and feature no members with major chops from other acts, the question almost begs to be asked: why? Why release it after all this time? What makes it worthwhile?

I mean, it’s gotta be really damn good, right?

Weeeeeeeellllll… not really. To be honest, Poison Heart is very run-of-the-mill and somewhat uninspired psychobilly. There’s nothing on here that dozens of acts haven’t done before, and better. Stylistically, this is the same kind of sorta second wave and sorta middle agedly lazy stuff a lot of UK acts have been doing in recent years.

And it’s not like Poison Heart is a bad album. The trio that were The Bad Roaches can hold their instruments and belt out a decent tune… but decent only, not amazing. The songs themselves are decent, but no better. And vocalist Pete Crowley manages a decent effort behind the mic stand – but no better. Decent, no better is a very apt three-letter summary of the album.

The main problem is the lack of memorable songs, either through superior compositions or superior performances. Had the UK act nailed either one, the shortcomings of the second would have been mitigated. But when both are – well, decent!, it’s just not enough.

Sure, there are occasional moments when the listener perks up. The chorus of No Regrets is one such moment, but for a perhaps slightly dubious reason – it’s a blatant rip-off of The Clash’s Should I Stay Or Should I Go. But hey, if you’re gonna steal, steal from the best, right?

On a slightly more accomplished note, the wistful Tahula Rose, which incorporates a bit of country into the sound, is a nice little composition. Sadly, the performance is a bit on the generic side, which means that the potential ebbs out into a song that’s – you guessed it! – decent, nothing more.

Of course, Western Star will release whatever Western Star wants to release and who am I to naysay that? I guess Alan Wilson liked the album, and honestly, what more reason does he need to release it? None, I guess. But still: as an album that’s just decent and nothing more, and from a band who won’t be doing a second, hopefully stronger album, it’s hard to feel like Poison Heart is really worthwhile.

The Bad Roaches don’t seem to have an online presence