SONGS FROM THE END OF THE PIER - REVIEWS
VIVE LE ROCK MAGAZINE - Mar 2025
Garage, psych pop debut album from London based Steampunks.
For over 40 years Flicknife has provided a sanctuary for the weird and wonderful, and now Neovenator have joined its fold. Neovenator look to a quintessentially English psychedelic lineage that owes not so mush The Kinks or Bonzos as it does Hawkwind and associates, Bob Calvert and Inner City Unit.
Packing a punch that also draws on a glam tradition of pastiching classic rock ‘n’ roll characteristics, songs like “Politics is War/Politics is Art’ and ‘Effing Bohemians’ in particular, are punctuated by punchy “hey hey heys” and “ooh la las”.
The bass and keyboard combination imbues a hard-driving punky sound redolent of The Stranglers, even on slower numbers like ‘Witches of Soho’, or the skanky ‘Unus Mundus’. It’s an accomplished debut full of wry observations and pleasing hooks.
7/10 Rich Deakin
HOUSE OF PROG RADIO – Mar 2025
Formed in 2021 by Simon Waller (guitar/vocals), Neovenator released their first EP in 2022. When I realised that had been produced by JC Carroll of The Members I must admit I smiled as here is a group which is taking us back to that time just after punk when bands like The Members, The Jam, The Vapors and others were producing rock music which was fiercely independent and refusing to conform while also including pop hooks and daft backing vocals while the lead singer was not all that sweet. The rest of the gang are Pete ‘in black’ Walter (bass /backing vocals), Tony ‘Bontempi’ Dyson (keyboard and atmospheres) and Phil Neo Humphreys (drums) and if he were alive I can imagine Ian Dury sat in the front row at gigs with a massive smile on his face while Ray Davies point out just how similar they are to what The Kinks were doing in the Sixties. Somehow, there is also a feeling of Hawkwind about them, yet what permeates throughout is the honesty of what they are doing and the understanding they will never be allowed to mix with those “Effing Bohemians” who feel they are so much better than everyone as they read The Guardian.
There is nothing pretentious about this, it is Blur with the middle class knocked out of them, working class music for the masses which is bloody good. It is garage rock, pub rock, with elements of psychedelic here and there, and feels so very, very English indeed. This is not something aimed for the radio or success across the Atlantic but is four guys out to make a racket in a pub and for everyone involved to have the time of their lives. Want to jump up and down and shout? Then join in on “Politics Is War – Politics Is Art”, or scramble along to the high energy “We’ve Got Killers” where they say they play punk rock, and a little bit of ska too.
Music often takes it far too seriously, here is a band who want to show you it is okay to have fun at a gig, and if you get this you can recreate that feeling in your home. This is an album to make the listener to smile from beginning to end.
8/10 – Kev Rowland
LOUDER THAN WAR - Nov 2024
Formed in 2021 and described as ‘psychedelia-tinged garage rock n roll’ by Vive Le Rock. This is Neovenator’s debut album. A fabulous mix of influences (Stranglers, The Fallen Leaves, the Antz, Cardiacs and the Kinks) says Ged Babey, considering Olde English Peculiar as a name for their one of a kind, genre instead of Steampunk Psych.
I’ve always been curious about Steampunk, the aesthetic (more than the literature and lifestyle) but more specifically what music they actually regard as ‘theirs’. Some of the answers are contained in this album.
Steampunks finest were the brilliantly original The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing (currently on hold whilst the members pursue other projects). Hopefully they will return one day. But in the meantime we have Neovenator – who are of course absolutely nothing at all like The Men… but a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable band in their own right.
I would guess that Neovenators idea of Steam Punk was inspired by a childhood love of the films based on HG Wells stories The Time Machine and The First Men On The Moon plus Doctor Who (the William Hartnell to Tom Baker eras) Add to that Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle and the pre-internet imagination of the young sci-fi fan and history buff who then discovered punk rock in the form of the Stranglers XTC and Ultravox .. and the seeds of Neovenator took root.
The polished and musically sound with its growly bass and ornate keyboards is obviously very Stranglers.(Golden Brown was arguably the first Steampunk promo video after all.) Neovenator seem to have the gentlemanly stagecraft and enunciation of the Fallen Leaves, a band whom they have played gigs with. Along with young whippersnappers, the inspirational Erotic Secrets of Pompeii, they have a similar arty strangeness as Punishment of Luxury and the funny peculiarities of Dirk-era Adam and the Antz. Adding unnecessary affirmations to the end of sentences being just one example, yes? As well as oo-ee-oo’s and bop-shoo-wops.
Songs called Spaceship and Launch Day show they have their eyes on the final frontier and Politics Is War/Politics Is Art seems to be about the work and philosophies of American Futurist R. Buckmaster Fuller – who I had never heard of to be frank. If the tune is a little Britpop in style it’s more David Devant & his Spirit Wife that anything uncouth (and popular).
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free sounds very like Iggy Pops Nightclubbing in its pace and bass to start with and Unus Mundus perfects the nice and sleazy bass, groove and squelch of JJ Burnel, Black and Greenfield.
Song titles from Latin does point to Neovenator being maybe former grammar school punks who are probably now philosophy professors by day. The rejoice under pretty common or garden names though, do Simon (Guitar/ vocals) Pete, (Bass) Tony, (Keyboards) and Phil, (Drums).
There is a philosophical concept called Undus Mundus — Latin for One World. Its premise is basically that behind the evident chaos of this world and the universe there is a unifying realm of absolute knowledge on which all existence is based. The song may well be a take-down of conspiracy theorists though.
Witches of Soho and Seeing To The Buds are both great pop songs with a touch of pastoral psych and Feline era Stranglers.
The most immediate song though is Effing Bohemians – the abbreviation of the curse-word being theirs, ever mindful of radio-play. It playfully mocks Guardian-reading hipsters whilst admitting to a bit of envy. There’s a bit of Pulp about the way it carries itself and a radio hit for sure (20 or 40 years ago when these things mattered)
It took me a while to fully appreciate the amount of wit and wisdom and smartness going on under the surface of these songs. Neovenator are a band so out of kilter with the modern-age, which is what, ultimately makes them a really fabulous outsider band who encompass the past, present and yet have an eye on the future.
Olde English Peculiar they may be, or Steampunk Psych if you prefer, but fans of the work of Stranglers, Damned, Cardiacs, David Devant etc etc are well-advised to check them out, as there is much here to take to your heart.
4/5 Ged Babey
STEAMPUNK MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT - Nov 2024
WAXING ABOUT… SONGS FROM THE END OF THE PIER by NEOVENATOR
Some steampunk bands get discovered. The subject of today’s review, however, were excavated. Unearthed accidentally (but that’s another story) back in 2020 by an amateur Surrey archaeologist, Neovenator may not be quite so reptilian in appearance, but they certainly roar. The name means ‘new dinosaur’, which is a charming oxymoron, and they are four-strong, wielding guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. I suppose both T-Rex and Tyrannosaurus Rex may have been considered suitable names had they not already been appropriated by a Mr. M.Feld, back in the Glamourassic Period. And so, to the music.
Things kick off with ‘Spaceship’ in a very sensible way - in fact when they shout “Captain!” I had to try and resist the urge to respond “Wot?!” (I failed, for the record.) The punk manifesto is set out early on, yet the track contains trace elements of Tubeway Army (and yes, I know they started out punk.) Vocals are midway Vanian/Sensible, courtesy of Simon Waller, who’s also on guitar, while Tony Dyson’s keyboards bring a modernist feel to the game. Phil Humphreys on drums maintains order and keeps the whole thing in check with Pete Walter’s bass thrumming like the aforementioned galactic vessel . A real treat for the ears .
Next up is the gloriously titled ‘Effing Bohemians’ and a song so effortlessly cool and comfortable it could come from The Kinks. There’s a real Ray Davies feel to it, in fact, from the knowing wit to the gently mocking tone, with underlying notes of Steve Harley and, dare I say it, David Essex. The Cockney Rebel vibe is certainly enhanced by the “ooh, la la la” interjections. Best line? “I could never hang with them – not with this hair cut.” It made me smile. Oh, and lovely Dave Greenfield-esque keyboards to round it all off. Perfect!
‘Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free’ is the third track with a great dirty, throbbing, dub bassline, and a hint of menace in both the construct and lyric, a kind of ‘come out, come out, wherever you are.’ The treated vocals and guitar effects reminded me of bauhaus (lower case ‘b’ intentional), with a Talking Headsy ‘Psycho Killer’ kind of rhythm, and indeed the song has a carnival freak show vibe to it which only serves to enhance the gothic motif. It’s another winner, stomping and swaying as it encroaches on your hiding place.
Moving on now to ‘Politics Is War / Politics Is Art’ with a great chant-able, ‘join in on the fist-pumping’ chorus. It marches to a statement, that’s for sure, and there’s more architecture and morality in here than you could shake an OMD-themed stick at. The “ooh, la las” make a re-appearance and the band are tight, emphasising the workforce-like beat.
Something nice (and sleazy) next with the very Stranglers-like ‘Unus Mundus (It’s All About You)’ which if my murky memory of O-Level Latin is correct means one world. (See? I knew it would come in useful one day!) A slower tempo song, but still powerful, with some nice spacy effects.
‘We’ve Got Killers’ sounds like a real show opener, announcing the styles and genres you can expect from the gig with “we play indie, we play punk rock, and a little bit of ska too.” They certainly do have killers, and this one nails their killers to the mast. It bops along like a good’un, with the voice of a cheeky Tom Robinson type gently mocking tone, knowing and true.
So we’re on to ‘Big Crown’ and another chance for audience participation, the vocal being like ‘Dave Vanian sings Blancmange’, at least until the not-so-subtle “everything is neat, neat, neat” which made me think that I’d like to hear this band cover ‘Grimly Fiendish’, a song that I consider to be the second most steampunk record that’s not actually a steampunk record (even the video smacks of steampunk!), coming as it did two whole years before the genre was named. It’s a brilliant song, and the whole band are as one.
‘Witches Of Soho’ is up next, and put me in mind of The Psychedelic Furs in theme and delivery. Musically, there’s a lot going on here, nuanced strings hiding under the beat, subtle shades and it’s just quite, quite, beautiful. Deserves several plays, to listen out for things you’ve missed.
And next up is ‘Launch Day’, returning to the theme of opener ‘Spaceship.’ Though this would appear to be based on someone real (and I use the term ‘real’ advisedly.) For whoever could they mean with “by the power of his ego, he built himself a spaceship” and “circle earth, shiny lights, like the rear of his sports car.” I couldn’t possible say! It’s a proper rocker, eighties quo-stanced stadium style.
All things must pass, and we reach the finale. ‘Seeing To The Buds’ feels like a post-dystopian message of hope. Things can only get better - it’ll be brighter later. The world will be okay if we help her grow. With bird noises and uplifting words from the outset, this is a fine and inspiring track. It’s refreshing to hear modern music with something to say, that says it intelligently. Neovenator. Plenty of steam, bags of punk. It’s the end of the pier as we know it, and I feel fine.
Cap Nathaniel Tennyson Skirmish
