Kryp II Knight, Vol. V – Various Artists (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Bongo Boy Records is associated with all manner of music and artists of all genres, but for me, they do their most important work in the genre of rock, in its broadest meaning of the word. Why? Because, even today, a lot of bad rock music is still being made, so much of it still carries the same baggage, employing the same old cliched moves and well-worn grooves. This is why they have instigated a series of rock-orientated albums called Kryp II Knight, a sample of the best, breaking music in that realm to set the record straight. And Volume V is upon us!

ARTIC BABA gets the party started with Delivery Guy, a song built on old-school rock and roll vibes yet injected with plenty of more up-to-date pop-driven moves. The result is a song that is raw and rhythmic yet infectious and accessible, cultish and also commercial—surely the best of both worlds? Love & Opium follow with a song drenched in guitars; they groove and drive, pummel and propel at every turn. But the band’s ability to soften and smooth off these rough edges with swathes of lush vocals and soaring sonics makes Bloodflower a cut above your average rock tune. (Not that you will find anything that you might call average on such a compilation as this.)

Bob Birthisel is joined by Johnny Gioeli for What About My Reward, and they offer something more acoustic-driven, though no less powerful. It is like watching a masterclass in textures and layering as an acoustic base is embellished and elevated by spiralling electric guitars, driven on by bass and backbeats, and finally covered in soaring, sky-searing vocals. Great stuff and much more than the sum of its parts.

I have always admired The NEW Bardots’ ability to lean into the Stonesy-sleazy-bluesy-rock and roll of the past and use that to create nostalgia-tinged anthems for tomorrow’s music fan. Wasted Blind is one of those, and a great one too. Music is cyclical; you can hear the echoes of the past in all music, and the near-perfect rock sound of the early seventies has found the perfect outlet through this band. Man, it’s like Bad Company is still with us!

Never Surrender has more of an echo of the 80s about it, and Boys’N’Barry blends elements of glam and rock, poise and polish, grit and groove into a fantastic fist in the air, sing-along slice of defiance. The L&M Project Band appear to offer a bit of breathing space, and indeed Devil’s Flame comes on like a bluesy ballad, but slowly and in logical increments, it adds additional sonics, chiming piano, sweeping strings, blustering drums and finally, explosive and ornate flourishes and flashes of guitar until the song turns into a 4th July firework display described in musical terms, before playing out as a gospel spiritual as understated and atmospheric as when it came.

Bob Birthisel is back again with Take The Elevator, a song imbued with no small amount of AOR accessibility and New Wave sass. It wanders between the dark and brooding and the uplifting, a sonic elevator that goes from understated lulls to sky-searing crescendos. ObLiveA brings us Black Sheep, a song that takes time to build its sonic shape, preferring to slowly meander towards the listener rather than opt for the undignified charge that most rock music chooses. This creates a more satisfying experience that is towering and terrifying but also snake-like, sassy and sensual. Rock was always meant to be sexy, right?

Without You I’m Free sees Kikker blending seventies country-rock with more powerful rock and roll grooves, like The Allman Brothers jamming with Bon Jovi, a song of liberation that we can all relate to. You can always rely on E.G. Holmes to deliver something more subdued and sophisticated, which he does with the help of Timothy Ried in the form of Pieces That Lay Broken.

Punchy, fist in the air, boogie-some rock and roll is on the cards with Jose Calarco’s Take My Breath Away, a song that makes him sound like a worthy successor to Joan Jet and the Blackhearts, only with something more Latin infused at its core. The album is rounded off with Maryann Stefanik’s Sharpen Your Knives, a song which blends the beguiling vocals of the likes of Siouxsie Sioux with the exploratory rock and roll of Patti Smith, which is quite a blend of music; I’m sure you will agree.

Twelve great songs, a dozen songs that explore the full potential of rock and roll in all its forms and an album that reminds us that, despite what self-aggrandising playlisters, cooler-that-thou radio DJs, deluded would-be influencers, and other self-appointed movers and shakers might tell you, rock and roll is far from dead. In fact, on the strength of this album, it is getting its second wind. Which can only be a good thing…right?