Recording started in the Fall of 2013 and wrapped during early February of this year following in the same pattern as their debut album starting with drums and lead vocals which were tracked at Amperon Recorder by Pete Drivere. All other instrumentation and vocals were recorded at The Breezeway by Mikey of The Spastic Hearts. Mixing and mastering was done by the always great capabilities of Justin Perkins at the Mystery Room. The cover photo done by Ally Bubblegum with a girl's legs and arms peeking out of a bathtub's edge paired with the album design/layout by Ryan Rawtone really gave it the appearance of a campy 80's movie poster and I like it a lot! Official release happened on October 31st, made possible by Jolly Ronnie Records and Swamp Cabbage Records who partnered up to make the LP, and then SP. Records who released it on CD. With a couple labels working together on the vinyl, that allowed some nice variants to happen for this record with 22 being pressed to white that are band exclusive, 40 on a really pretty turquoise blue with black streak which is what I have, and then 460 on black. The LP does come with a download code and digital only can be obtained through iTunes. The album can also be streamed in full and downloaded over at Swamp Cabbage's bandcamp.
I think the initial thing I noticed in the first listen of Side A's opener, "Can't Get Enough" is that the power pop influence in their sound was taken a notch up but the Chuck Berry-esque rock 'n' roll vibe is still definitely there driving everything along at an energetic pace with of course the strongest element of The Spastic Hearts which is pop punk. Jay's vocals sound powerful and great like they did in the debut but another little change I really like in this department is there are more harmonies coming in from both Mikey and Angie compared to last time. That is a good move giving the songs more depth. The song content is very matched to the playfulness of the cover imagery both musically and lyrically with lots of romance for better or worse and just fun in general! "Baby Doll" has some nice keyboards and well played soloing from Mikey who makes quite a few appearances with his talented skill doing just that throughout the album. Things slow down a bit in "All For You", showing their ballad side with some sugary backing vocals but pick right back up after into "Emily" and then one of my favorites "Let Her Go", a nicely arranged tale of heartbreak. Side B starts out running with the high energy title track "No Girls No Fun" and another one I really liked which is the more straight ahead pop punk "Eat Your Heart Out". "It's Ok" has a ton of 80's pop influence with a solo that sounds like it could fit in just as easily with a song by a band like The Outfield followed by a couple more faster paced numbers and the record closes with the mid-tempo "Don't Go" about a girl who got away. Great bridge and fade out!
It's always nice to have a record in your collection that isn't so serious and just exists to entertain. That's exactly what The Spastic Hearts did with "No Girls No Fun", I'm glad to own it, and recommend it for yours! Visit any of the labels' webstores to get your copy and European fans can find it through Striped Music's distro. As always, stay tuned with the band by giving their facebook page a like!
The Spastic Hearts are...
Angi- Bass and Vocals
Mikey- Guitar and Vocals
Jay- Vocals and Guitar
Casey- Drums
All songs by The Spastic Hearts
Tracks
Side A
1. Can't Get Enough
2. Baby Doll
3. Dance 4 Me
4. All For You
5. Emily
6. Let Her Go
Side B
7. No Girls No Fun
8. Eat Your Heart Out
9. It's Ok
10. Spastic Heart
11. Spend It With You
12. Don't Go
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