Its follow-up, “Oriental Beat,” is the title track of the album, so I didn’t want to be let down. I can’t argue that government corruption is a classic theme in Punk songs ( “Anarchy in the U.K.” anyone?) and even in modern rap and hip-hop. However, I liked the juxtaposition (whether intentional or otherwise) between the group’s mentions of police brutality compared with the patriotically bubbly background riffs. “No Law or Order” is a strangely peppy track given such a controversial and serious subject.
However, I thought that the isolated guitar work by McCoy was a smart move that showcased his talent. The guitar riff comes off as a bit repetitive. Monroe’s vocals are entertaining, decidedly Punk-Rock, and are the star of this track. Baby” brings us back to the bluesy rhythms that closely resemble those of the SEX PISTOLS. The harmonica returns in the background of this song, and the groove of Andy McCoy’s solo creates electricity in this track, which instantly revitalizes the listener. However, what I do know is that Monroe’s voice sounds almost exactly like the Glam-Punk wail of Johnny Thunders (of the NEW YORK DOLLS). Now, I’ve compared this group to the NEW YORK DOLLS before, and that same parallel shines through in the next track, “Teenangles Outsiders.” Now, if you asked me what a teenangle was, I couldn’t tell you. The drums also stand out in this track, with Razzle’s unique rhythm and backdrop of relentless hi-hat. “Visitor” is a huge leap from the previous song’s style, it’s pure, unadulterated Punk, in everything from the vocals to the thumping rhythm guitar. Razzle’s drums are far more complex than those of the previous drummers’, and the stylistic guitar riffs give the song a rockabilly vibe. The lyrics seemed a bit out of place (where do cowgirls fit in with HANOI ROCK’s image of leather and hairspray?), but the musicianship is solid and I enjoyed Monroe’s collaboration with a female singer, which added depth to the track. “ Don’t Follow Me” is an insanely catchy song, don’t get me wrong. Already, the production quality is far better than that of “Bangkok Rocks, Saigon Shakes.” The sound is clearer and more polished, and the pure energy of this song drew me into the rest of the album. It’s a classic anthem that makes you want to crank the radio and go 80 down the highway with the wind in your hair. Yaffa’s swinging bass provides the perfect backdrop for Monroe’s vocals, and the chorus is absolutely infectious. “Motorvatin” the album’s first song, screams of Classic Rock. They’re essentially one of the missing founding fathers of rock, and what I think of as their last great album “Oriental Beat” exemplifies this. HANOI ROCKS is talented, and an obvious influence on later Rock n’ Roll acts such as GUNS AND ROSES and KISS. “Razzle.” After this, the group lost momentum, breaking up and reuniting multiple times before front man Michael Monroe split it off for good to start his own solo act in the early 2000’s. If you don’t know the tragic story of HANOI ROCKS’s rapid rise and tragic fall from fame, basically Vince Neil’s drunken joyride resulted in the sudden, accidental death of the band’s talented and charismatic drummer, Nicholas Dingley, a.k.a. Especially, given that this was the early 80’s and they were recording in an amateur studio. I’ve listened to their first album “Bangkok Rocks, Saigon Shakes” multiple times (I wrote a review on it, in fact), and I was impressed by the quality of their sound.
albums, of course).HANOI ROCKS isn’t a brand new band to me. Sampled on the record are Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai (on “No Fly List”), slain women’s rights activist Qandeel Baloch (on “Aaja”), Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi (on “Shoes off”), and one of Pakistan's most famous Qawwali singers, Aziz Mian (on “Zayn Malik”), all helping to make Cashmere a more accurate representation of the current South Asian climate than American listeners almost ever hear (outside of M.I.A. If songs about being hassled by airport security don’t make Cashmere’s point of view clear enough, the album’s instrumentation and samples throw pieces of Pakistani and Indian history in your face-and right at a crucial time, as border tension between India and Pakistan have run particularly high. They’re the rap group of Donald Trump and Nigel Farage’s nightmares: Their songs are peppered with South Asian (Hindi and Urdu) slang, rapped by an American with roots in the Punjab region of India (Heems, formerly of Das Racist) and a Brit whose family emigrated from modern-day Pakistan (Riz MC, aka actor/rapper Riz Ahmed). Earlier this year, Heems, Riz MC, and Redinho released a quintessential telling of the brown immigrant story in the form of Cashmere, their debut record as Swet Shop Boys.
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